The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed alarming new figures showing that American consumers lost $15.9 billion to fraud during 2025, underscoring the growing scale of deceptive schemes targeting the public. The data emerged in testimony delivered on March 25, 2026, before the Joint Economic Committee, where FTC officials outlined the agency’s multifaceted strategy to tackle the problem through enforcement and public awareness initiatives.
According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, which compiles complaints directly from individuals and partner organizations, the agency logged roughly 3 million fraud-related reports last year.
This marked a notable rise from the prior year’s 2.6 million reports, which had totaled more than $12 billion in losses.
Imposter scams remained the most common category, generating over 1 million complaints and exceeding $3.5 billion in damages—a pattern that has persisted since 2020.
Investment-related frauds, however, inflicted the heaviest financial toll, with victims reporting $7.9 billion in losses.
In her remarks to lawmakers, Lois Greisman, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, stressed that confronting fraud forms the cornerstone of the commission’s consumer protection mandate.
The FTC pursued 40 separate law-enforcement actions throughout fiscal year 2025 against a range of illicit operations, including fraudulent business opportunities, investment and money-making schemes, illegal robocalls, technical support scams, impersonations of government or corporate entities, and hidden or unfair fees.
These cases ultimately secured more than $1.8 billion in financial relief for affected consumers.
Beyond domestic crackdowns, the FTC is intensifying cooperation with international partners to pursue fraudsters operating overseas while simultaneously targeting U.S.-based enablers.
A recent example involved a settlement with Paddle, a United Kingdom-based payment processor with U.S. operations, which agreed to pay $5 million for allegedly processing payments tied to technical-support scams run from Cyprus.
Such actions demonstrate the agency’s commitment to disrupting both the perpetrators and the financial pipelines that sustain them.
Education remains equally vital in the FTC’s approach.
The commission produces timely blogs, alerts, videos, webinars, and social-media content to help consumers recognize emerging threats and avoid falling victim.
Officials encouraged the public to stay informed through these resources and to report suspicious activity promptly.
The testimony, approved by a unanimous 2-0 vote of the Commission, serves as both a sobering progress report and a call for continued vigilance.
With fraud losses climbing year over year, the FTC urged consumers to visit consumer.ftc.gov for reliable guidance, file complaints at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and follow the agency’s social-media channels for the latest warnings.
By combining aggressive prosecution with proactive outreach, the FTC aims to curb the epidemic of fraud that continues to erode public trust and drain household finances.
As digital schemes grow more sophisticated, sustained collaboration between regulators, lawmakers, and the public will be essential to reversing this upward trend in consumer harm. The latest figures highlight the urgency of these ongoing efforts and the need for greater awareness at every level.