Six Top Financial Scams in 2025
Imposter scams, online shopping scams and fake job offers are some ways scammers try to steal your money and identity. Learn what to look for in text messages, emails, social media, websites, and browser pop-ups, and how you can protect yourself.
Takeaways: Top Financial Scams, Risks and How To Protect Yourself
- Top financial scams of 2025 include imposter scams, online shopping scams, investment-related scams, business and job opportunity scams, internet and phone carrier scams, and debt and credit scams.
- Scammers often use phone calls, text messages, emails, social media, websites, apps, online ads and browser pop-ups to trick people.
- Scams can lead to the theft of your money or identity. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to get your money back.
- To protect yourself from scams, avoid clicking links in texts or emails, and never provide personal or account information unless you've verified that the recipient is legitimate.
Every day, millions of people of all ages receive texts, instant messages and calls asking for personal or financial information. Those requests lead to billions of dollars lost through financial scams — often without the ability to get any money back.
How Common Are Financial Scams in 2025?
A March 2025 Federal Trade Commission release reported scams that added up to $12.5 billion stolen in 2024. Big hits came from scams starting online (over $3 billion) versus text messages, calls and emails ($1.9 billion).
Scammers tricked victims using old-fashioned means such as phone calls along with newer methods like social media, websites, apps, online ads and browser pop-ups. Social media scams are a particular vulnerability, with 70% of those reporting contact also reporting a loss, with $1.9 billion lost to social media scammers overall.
While people between the ages of 20 and 29 reported losing money more often, people 70 and up lost far more money than any other age group. In some cases, scammers stole retirees' life savings.
Here are a few of the top financial scams and fraud reports last year and this year, according to the FTC (PDF). It's important to note that not all fraud is reported, and not all accusations turn out to be fraud.
Six Common Money Scams
1. Imposter Scams
An imposter scam is when a person pretends to be someone else — a loved one, business, nonprofit or government agency — to convince you to send money to them.
Imposter scams are the top scams reported so far for 2025, reported more than twice as often as the next category. Most scammers pose as real businesses or government entities, but they may also pretend to be a tech-support company, charitable organization or romantic interest.
These are common examples:
- Texts claiming to be from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or UPS that say there's a problem, such as a missed delivery or your address needs to be updated. They then offer a link to fix the issue.
- Text messages claiming to be from Amazon saying there's a problem with something you bought or that someone has made an expensive, fraudulent purchase. They then offer a refund if you click a link.
- Calls claiming to be from the Washington government toll agency "Good To Go!" feature convincing fake website links mirroring the official one.
- Your caller ID tells you local law enforcement is phoning you; when you answer, an angry voice threatens jail over an unpaid fine or missed jury duty unless you pay immediately.
- Someone posing as a representative of the Social Security Administration or utility company leaves a voicemail saying you owe money and need to call back right away.
Scammers may use fake websites to steal your online account information, including your bank account number and login credentials.
Or they might harass and threaten you to act immediately to get you to give up sensitive personal information or wire money.
Often, scammers try new tactics once victims are savvy enough to avoid the previous ones. This year, in 2025, the FTC warned of scammers posing as government agents asking consumers to buy and deliver gold bars.
2. Online Shopping Scams
Online shopping scams include charges for undisclosed costs, undelivered items and internet auction fraud.
For example, if you search for a brand-name product on social media, you might get results advertising extremely low-priced "deals" for that item. The scammer company, however, is selling knockoff or fake items, or sets up a fake site to draw in consumers, as a way to steal your credit card number.
Creative scammers are always looking for new ways to take advantage of consumers and current news cycles. In 2025, JOANN Fabric & Craft announced it was going out of business.
Scammers set up fake websites with JOANN products advertised at 80%-90% off. Unaware shoppers provided credit card numbers for products that were never going to be delivered.
Scammers also use fake websites to capture login credentials. They might then try the username and password on financial institutions' websites, attempting to gain access to your accounts.
To protect yourself, never reuse a password and consider using a password generator to create complex and unique passwords for every site.
3. Investment Related Scams
Investment scams promise "proven," "guaranteed" or "secret" methods for making easy money with little or no risk, but they say it's a limited-time offer and encourage you to "act now."
Scams might even show off screenshots and graphics of impressive returns for these trending topics:
- Day trading
- Cryptocurrency
- Real estate
- Art
- Gems
- Precious metals and coins
Investment scams are a growing proportion of scams and hit victims with the most significant losses — a median loss of $10,000 per victim, so far in 2025, according to FTC data.
A new tactic involves taking over social media accounts to exploit victims' trust in real-world relationships. If your high-school best friend starts posting about a fantastic investment, you're more likely to hand over funds.
In 2025, yet another new scam has emerged in response, according to the FBI — fictitious law firms that claim to recover funds lost to crypto scams.
4. Business and Job Opportunity Scams
Business and job opportunity scams are typically fake offers for work or help with a business in an attempt to steal your personal information or your money. You might receive them by text or another messaging mode.
These types of scams grew massively in the past few years, according to the 2025 FTC report. The scams may appear to come from:
- Companies offering quick money online for various tasks.
- Job recruiters.
- Companies that say they want to employ you to work at home.
- Entrepreneurs who want to help you start a business.
- Your "new boss."
In most cases, these scams try to get you to either give up your own accounts or funds so you can get paid. Or the fraud could attempt to use you as a "money mule," asking you to deposit a check and then sending funds to someone else.
Between 2020 and 2024, reports of business and job opportunity scams nearly tripled and losses grew fivefold from $90 million to $501 million. Median losses from business and job opportunity scams are around $2,100 so far in 2025, according to FTC data.
As the FTC notes, "Never pay anyone to get paid, or to get a job. That's a sure sign of a scam."
5. Internet and Mobile Service Scams
Scammers posing as internet and mobile service providers might offer a discount on these critical modern services. You might even be offered a free phone or a smartwatch.
Then, the scammer will often ask you to pay for the discount with a gift card. Real companies won't ask you to do this.
The FTC has received complaints about scams using fake offers from companies like AT&T, Spectrum or Comcast Xfinity.
Other scams reported by consumers involved unauthorized call charges and misleading prepaid phone card offers, among others, according to the FTC.
6. Debt and Credit Scams
Debt and credit scams involve scammers charging upfront fees before assisting with debt or promising a loan in exchange for an upfront payment.
Many of these scams promise to help borrowers manage their student loan debt or gain access to credit, but instead keep the victim's money.
For instance, debt relief scams involve scammers promising to eliminate your debt for an upfront fee. Most "legitimate organizations won't try to charge you before they settle any of your debts or enter you into a debt management plan," according to the FTC.
Student loan scams work in much the same way, and may be on the upswing now that student loan repayment is in force.
The FTC recently settled a case against Panda Benefit Services (also doing business as Prosperity Benefit Services) and affiliated companies.
In this case, the FTC says operators pretended to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. They also tricked consumers into paying more than $16.7 million in illegal upfront fees toward "guaranteed" loan forgiveness.
Warning Signs and How To Protect Yourself
One of the best ways to protect yourself from a scam is to know the signs of a scam. While the stories change, scammers are fairly consistent in methods of initial contact, how they try to make you feel and the ways they demand money or information.
Faceless Outreach
According to the 2025 FTC report, the top ways people reported being contacted by scammers were via:
- Text
- Phone call
- Website
- Social media
- Dating apps
- Messaging apps
With all of these methods, you won't often see a real person face-to-face, so it can be harder to verify identity.
Texts are a particularly popular way to start a scam because most people almost always open text messages, according to the FTC.
Unexpected and Emotional Request
Scammers could play on your trust to gain sensitive information, posing as an honest, well-known company, government agent or even a family member or friend.
To get that information, the scammer tries to make you feel one of the following emotions:
- Fear: Threatening your freedom, financial security or physical safety.
- Shame: Embarrassing you over your alleged actions or accidents.
- Anticipation: Enticing you with quick, easy money or a dream prize.
- Altruism: Playing on your sympathy after a natural disaster; in 2025, scammers pretended to be charities helping victims of the California wildfires.
High-Pressure Sales Tactics and Demands
Scammers tell you to hurry and act now. They don't want you to have time to investigate, talk to trusted people or look up the scam.
Scammers aim to steal your money by using a method that makes it harder to recover. They often insist you pay up with one of these:
- Payment apps (like Zelle, Venmo, etc.)
- Wire transfer
- Cash
- Digital currency (Cryptocurrency)
- Gift card or prepaid debit card
Scammers may also try to get the following info from you to steal your identity and funds:
- Federal Student Aid ID number
- Social Security number
- Bank account information
- Credit card or debit card number
Big Picture: Ways to Avoid Scams
If you're suspicious about a request for money or information, search online for some of the language used in the request, plus "scam," "fraud" or "complaint."
Talk to someone you trust about the scam — even if you're worried it could be embarrassing. Alternatively, use contact information you look up yourself — not the contact information the caller gave you — to contact the friend, business or government agency for verification.
In the meantime, don't click links in texts or emails, or provide personal information or credit card details to someone who makes you feel uneasy, suspicious or uncomfortable.
Review your bank account regularly, including debit card transactions. Keep your online banking information and login credentials safe. Many scammers would like nothing more than access to your accounts at financial institutions.
You can also research scam pages via the FTC.gov, FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and Washington State Attorney General's Scam Alerts. You might even file a scam report of your own with local law enforcement or a government agency.
FAQs
Q: What Are the Top Scams in Washington State?
Top scams in Washington included impostor, online shopping, internet services and business and job opportunity scams. These added up to almost $170 million in losses this year alone in Washington state, with a median loss of $404.
Q: If I Get Scammed, Can I Get My Money Back from My Bank?
Most scammers request that you send or transfer money in a way that makes it impossible to get your money back. For this reason, be extremely careful and suspicious if anyone asks you to make a payment by bank transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app or wire transfer. A credit card is one of the safest ways to make an online payment due to consumer protections.
Q: What If Someone Calls and Says I Won a Prize?
Prize and sweepstakes scams pressure you to act now to receive money, cars and other fabulous prizes. Or the scams say you won a foreign lottery. These scams try to get you to pay up to claim a prize that doesn't exist. Read more and temper your excitement before believing you're a lucky winner.
The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized financial, tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation when making financial, legal, tax, investment, or any other business and professional decisions that affect you and/or your business.
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Lora Shinn
Contributor