Social media scams caused over two billion dollars in losses to consumers last year

Social media is now America’s most expensive scam hotspot. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers reported $2.1 billion in losses from platform-based fraud in 2025, a number that has grown eightfold in five years. Nearly one in three fraud victims said the con started on a social platform. Why is Facebook such a big target? Facebook stood out as the biggest source of reported losses. The FTC said scams that started on Facebook led to higher losses than those originating on any other social media platform, with WhatsApp and Instagram well behind. Losses linked to Facebook-originated scams also exceeded those tied to schemes that began via text messages or email. Social Media Apps Unsplash The pattern is especially concerning because Facebook remains one of the most widely used platforms among adults. Its broad reach across age groups gives scammers a large pool of potential targets, including older users who may rely on the platform to stay connected with family, community groups, local sellers, and old friends. Recommended Videos (function(){let containerEl=document.getElementById('dt-cnx-container-69f0b6c42ab32');const deletePlayer=()=>{if(containerEl){containerEl.remove();containerEl=null}};if(!window.DT_RELATED_PLAYER_PROVIDER){deletePlayer();return} const iasAnId=decodeURIComponent('927851');if(!window.dtCNXReady){const loadIAS=()=>{return new Promise((resolve)=>{const e=document.createElement('script');e.src='https://static.adsafeprotected.com/vans-adapter-google-ima.js';e.onload=()=>{resolve()};document.head.appendChild(e)})};const loadCNX=()=>{return new Promise((resolve)=>{!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.src='javascript:false';t.style.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.onload=function(){window.dtCNXIframe=t;resolve()};c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js?cid=2a2352ef-fe98-483c-8897-aef587823f13',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)};if(document.readyState!=='loading'){n.body.appendChild(t)}else{n.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){n.body.appendChild(t)})}}}(document)})};window.dtCNXReady=()=>{if(!window.dtCNXReadyPromise){window.dtCNXReadyPromise=new Promise((resolve)=>{Promise.all([iasAnId?loadIAS():Promise.resolve(),]).then(()=>loadCNX()).then(()=>{resolve()})})} return window.dtCNXReadyPromise}} const disableFloating=()=>{let playerAPI=window.DTConnatixPlayers&&window.DTConnatixPlayers['dt-cnx-player-69f0b6c42ab31'];if(playerAPI){playerAPI.disableFloatingMode()}else{DTEvent.on('dt-connatix-player-ready',()=>{playerAPI=window.DTConnatixPlayers['dt-cnx-player-69f0b6c42ab31'];if(playerAPI){playerAPI.disableFloatingMode()}})}};window.dtDampenPlayerCallbacks=window.dtDampenPlayerCallbacks||{};window.dtDampenPlayerCallbacks['dt-cnx-player-69f0b6c42ab31']=deletePlayer;const lazyLoad=()=>{return new Promise((resolve)=>{if(containerEl&&window.IntersectionObserver){const observer=new IntersectionObserver((entries)=>{if(entries[0].isIntersecting){observer.disconnect();if(containerEl){window.dtDampenPlayerCallbacks['dt-cnx-player-69f0b6c42ab31']=disableFloating;resolve()}}},{rootMargin:'300px'});observer.observe(containerEl)}})};Promise.resolve().then(()=>lazyLoad()).then(()=>window.dtCNXReady()).then(()=>{(new…

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