ATLANTA—Credit unions need to increase their efforts to educate members about how to prevent fraud, according to one analyst who points out social media is simply painting a bigger target on consumers’ backs.
“The FTC reported a total of 2.6 million fraud reports in 2023, with an estimated $10 billion lost – an extra $1 billion in comparison to 2022,” said Seth Bader from law firm Bader Scott. “These figures are worrying, especially given that fraudsters have easy access to people now as they are targeting social media users meaning many more people are subject to their scams.”
Bader pointed out that each year, the U.S. suffers losses of billions of dollars because of fraud.
“So, it is important to remain aware of the diverse ways scammers can target you and your loved ones,” he said.
Bader pointed to FTC data (covering Q2 2023 through Q1 2024) that show:
- Georgia has the largest number of reports filed per 100,000 residents at 1,605
- At the other end of the data, South Dakota was named least at risk with a rate 42% below the national average
- Overall, the average number of incidents per state sat at 73,900, totaling 988 per 100,000
“A few factors contribute to why certain areas are worse off than others on this list. For example, economic vulnerability can play a part,” Bader said. “Where people are more financially insecure, the lure of scams supposedly delivering high returns can seem more promising. Additionally, regions with older populations can face a larger number of cases as technology can be harder for older adults to navigate.”
Fair Comparisons
The analysis from Bader Scott scaled the FTC data against each state’s population to ensure fair comparisons among states and investigate the areas with the highest volume per 100,000 residents.
“The data revealed that Georgia was the number one state suffering from the highest rates of fraud. In the assessed period, there were over 177,000 reports filed, resulting in a rate of 1,605 cases per 100,000 residents – a 62% rise above the national average (988 per 100,000),” Bader said.
Georgia has frequently ranked highly in the past for fraud incidents, being named as the state with the highest rate of consumer fraud in 2022. At the time, this rate was just 1,550 per 100,000. In the first quarter of 2024, the FTC reported over 4,300 reports of imposter scams with other top scams relating to online shopping, internet service fraud and business and job opportunities, Bader noted.
Second worst off is Georgia’s neighbor Florida, which saw a rate of 1,589 cases per 100,000 people. Florida’s residents reported over 359,300 incidents in this period and have consistently ranked in the top four places worst hit over the last five years. As of the first three months of this year, Florida residents have already lost $171.1 million to fraudsters.
“The FTC’s report on 2024 data so far names imposter scams as the most common scam type here, with online shopping and negative reviews coming in second. In the first quarter of 2024, the FTC has reported over 32,000 incidents of all types of scams, a worrying figure,” Bader said.
Nevada ranks in third place, with a rate of 1,532 reports per 100,000 residents. In the period measured, there were over 48,900 cases. At the end of the first quarter, the FTC reported over 1,600 imposter crime complaints.
Small Population
In fourth place, with a rate of 1,486 reports per 100,000 residents, is Delaware.
“For such a small population, this figure is a concerning 50% above the average,” Bader said. “According to the FTC’s report on the first quarter of the year, residents here have already lost $6.3 million to fraud. Over the time frame analyzed, there were over 15,300 cases of fraud reported.”
As with most states, the most common type of scam is imposter fraud. As for other kinds, the FTC has reported nearly 50 scams relating to travel, vacation and timeshare plans that occurred in the first quarter of this year, highlighting this as the eighth most common scam in-state.
Ranking fifth is Maryland.
“Here, there are approximately 1,428 reports per 100,000 residents – 44% above the national average,” Bader said. “Within the assessed period, there were over 88,200 instances reported.”
Within the top ten types, mortgage foreclosure relief and debt management fraud rank high in Maryland.
“This year, this kind has already been reported 149 times according to the latest data from the FTC. Imposter scams have been reported over 3,400 times so far, and online shopping fraud is the second most common,” Bader added.