Americans lost $2.1B to social media scams in 2025, data shows

Social media has become fraudsters’ favorite medium, allowing scammers to steal a staggering $2.1 billion in 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday.

The amount of money lost in social media scams has surged in recent years. Losses in 2025 are eight times more than those in 2020 partly because scammers can now reach potential victims more easily on social media.

“Social media creates easy access to billions of people from anywhere in the world, making a scammer’s job easier at very little cost,” the FTC said in a statement.

Criminals can also easily conduct research on their future victims by hacking into their social media accounts, learning how to target them and eventually use ads to lure them. The social media research via hacking allows fraudsters to target people specifically by age, interest and shopping habits.

        <div class="recirc-module">
        <h3 class="recirc__heading"></h3>
        <p class="recirc__subheading"></p>
                                        <div class="recirc__post">
                <div class="post__wrap">
                    <div class="post__image-wrapper">
                                                        <a data-lpos="inline-recirc-module" data-lid="Fake GLP-1 and weight loss ads are flooding social media. 4 scams to look out for" href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/glp-1-weight-loss-drug-scams/3832735/">
                                                                    <img alt="" class="post__image" srcset="https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=3840,2160&w=130&h=73&crop=1&strip=all 130w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=3840,2160&w=170&h=96&crop=1&strip=all 170w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=3840,2160&w=210&h=118&crop=1&strip=all 210w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=3840,2160&w=250&h=141&crop=1&strip=all 250w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=3840,2160&w=290&h=163&crop=1&strip=all 290w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=3840,2160&w=330&h=186&crop=1&strip=all 330w" src="https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2026/01/GettyImages-2226642655.jpg?quality=85&strip=all" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 166px, 124px" />
                            </a>


                                                                                </div>

                    <div class="post__text">
                        <div class="post__meta">
                                                                <a data-lpos="inline-recirc-module" data-lid="Diet &amp; Exercise" class="post__tag" href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/tag/diet-exercise/">Diet &amp; Exercise</a>
                                                                                                <span class="post__date post__date--has-category">
                                    Jan 16                                  </span>
                                                        </div>

                                                        <h3 class="post__title">
                                <a data-lpos="inline-recirc-module" data-lid="Fake GLP-1 and weight loss ads are flooding social media. 4 scams to look out for" class="post__title--link" href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/glp-1-weight-loss-drug-scams/3832735/">
                                    Fake GLP-1 and weight loss ads are flooding social media. 4 scams to look out for                                   </a>
                            </h3>
                                                </div>
                </div>
            </div>
                                        <div class="recirc__post">
                <div class="post__wrap">
                    <div class="post__image-wrapper">
                                                        <a data-lpos="inline-recirc-module" data-lid="Scammers hijack apartment listings, impersonate agents to con prospective renters" href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/apartment-rental-scam-social-media/3801815/">
                                                                    <img alt="" class="post__image" srcset="https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=5585,3716&w=130&h=73&crop=1&strip=all 130w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=5585,3716&w=170&h=96&crop=1&strip=all 170w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=5585,3716&w=210&h=118&crop=1&strip=all 210w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=5585,3716&w=250&h=141&crop=1&strip=all 250w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=5585,3716&w=290&h=163&crop=1&strip=all 290w, https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=5585,3716&w=330&h=186&crop=1&strip=all 330w" src="https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/11/GettyImages-2148528507.jpg?quality=85&strip=all" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 166px, 124px" />
                            </a>


                                                                                </div>

                    <div class="post__text">
                        <div class="post__meta">
                                                                <a data-lpos="inline-recirc-module" data-lid="Scams" class="post__tag" href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/tag/scams/">Scams</a>
                                                                                                <span class="post__date post__date--has-category">
                                    Nov 6, 2025                                 </span>
                                                        </div>

                                                        <h3 class="post__title">
                                <a data-lpos="inline-recirc-module" data-lid="Scammers hijack apartment listings, impersonate agents to con prospective renters" class="post__title--link" href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/national-international/apartment-rental-scam-social-media/3801815/">
                                    Scammers hijack apartment listings, impersonate agents to con prospective renters                                   </a>
                            </h3>
                                                </div>
                </div>
            </div>
                </div>

Among the platforms, victims lost more money through Facebook than other any apps. The FTC said people also lost more money to scams in Facebook alone than texts or emails.

The second most used platform was WhatsApp, and third was Instagram.

Investment scams are the most profitable business for criminals, stealing $1.1 billion from people they met on social media in 2025. Investment scams typically start with an ad or post offering a program to teach people how to invest. Others, posing as successful investors, use fake testimonials and lure victims.

Shopping scams are the most reported type of social media scam, according to the FTC. Nearly half of people who lost money to a scam on social media said they ordered they saw something in a social media.

Romance scams have been on the rise. More than half of the victims who lost money to a romance scam said they met their fraudsters on a social medial platform

Here are tips from the FTC to avoid being a social media scam victim:

Limit who can see your posts and contacts on social media. Visit your privacy settings to set some restrictions so scammers have less to work with.
Never let someone you have met only on social media direct your investment decisions. Instead, learn more about spotting investment scams.
Before you buy, check out the company. Search online for its name plus “scam” or “complaint.”

Source link