Survey: 6% of U.S. Adults Say They Lost Money to Scams Last Year

Six percent of U.S. adults said they had been scammed out of money last year, according to a Gallup and Stop Scams Alliance survey reported by NBC News. That figure represents about 15 million people and $68 billion in total losses.

The survey of 5,173 adults conducted in January and February relied on self-reported experiences. Victims said 12 percent of the scams used AI or deepfakes. One in four respondents said they had been scammed at some point in their adult lives.

Scams caused severe financial hardship for 21 percent of those affected and moderate hardship for 46 percent. Seventy-five percent reported negative effects on their mental health and well-being. Fraudulent websites accounted for 40 percent of incidents.

Phone calls, text messages and email each appeared in nearly half of cases, and half of all scams used two or more contact methods. In 49 percent of cases, victims were tricked into sending money directly, most often through apps such as Zelle and PayPal. Rates were higher among lower-income adults, people of color and those without bachelor’s degrees.

Stop Scams Alliance founder and CEO Ken Westbrook said organized crime groups are using scale to extract $68 billion, comparable to the annual revenue of a Fortune 500 company. He added that the emotional impact can exceed the financial damage, citing his mother’s experience in spring 2023 after she clicked a fake obituary page.

” OpenAI released a February report documenting attempts to use its tools for fraud and scams worldwide.