Social Media Scams Lead to $2.1 Billion Losses in the U.S.: How to Stay Safe

In 2025, scams that originated on social media platforms resulted in losses amounting to $2.1 billion in the United States, according to a recent report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

This figure marks an eightfold increase from the $261 million reported in 2020, highlighting social media as the most expensive method of contact for consumers, surpassing phone calls, text messages, and emails.

"Social media allows scammers to reach billions of individuals worldwide with minimal effort," stated the FTC in its official release.

Nearly 30% of all individuals who reported fraud losses in 2025 noted that the scam initiated on a social media platform.

Facebook emerged as the leading platform for reported losses, exceeding combined scams via text message and email. WhatsApp and Instagram followed in second and third place, respectively.

The FTC cautions that the actual figures are likely much higher since most victims never report the fraud to authorities.

Prevalent Types of Scams

Investment scams proved the most profitable for criminals, generating $1.1 billion in losses, more than half of the total.

Scammers create ads, posts, or WhatsApp groups with fake testimonials from "successful investors" to lure victims into fraudulent investment platforms.

Some blend romance and investment in a tactic known as "pig butchering": they first form a romantic relationship and then offer "investment advice" to lead victims to a fake platform.

Romantic scams resulted in $298 million in losses in 2025, with nearly 60% of victims saying the deceit began on social media.

Shopping scams were the most frequently reported type: over 40% of victims claimed to have placed an order after seeing an advertisement on social media, only to find the products never arrived or were counterfeit.

This phenomenon affects all age groups. In 2025, everyone except those over 80 reported more losses from social media scams than from any other contact method.

Scammers' Techniques

Criminals exploit social media to research potential victims: they analyze public profiles or hack accounts to segment them by age, interests, and shopping habits, then use paid ads to target them precisely.

This increasing sophistication is compounded by new forms of digital fraud. One of the latest is the fake CAPTCHA scam, which installs malware to steal passwords and bank details.

Additionally, in April, the Social Security Administration warned about fraudulent emails impersonating the agency to steal personal information and money from its beneficiaries.

There have also been cases of fake lawyers operating via Facebook, creating fictitious immigration hearings, and charging thousands of dollars for nonexistent services, a trend particularly affecting Spanish-speaking immigrants.

The Cuban community in Miami and Florida has frequently been targeted by various schemes, including extortion with manipulated videos and shipping scams through WhatsApp.

FTC's Recommendations for Protection

The agency offers three concrete measures to reduce risk:

• Limit who can view posts and contacts on social media by adjusting privacy settings to make scammers' jobs harder.
• Never let someone known only through social media influence investment decisions, and educate oneself on identifying such frauds.
• Verify the legitimacy of any company before purchasing by searching its name online along with the words "scam" or "complaint."

Those who identify a scam can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The dramatic rise in losses over five years underscores the scale of the problem: from $261 million in 2020 to $2.1 billion in 2025, a 700% increase that reveals how social media has become the primary battleground for digital fraud in the United States.