Imposter scams cost Americans $3.5 billion in 2025, FTC data shows fifth year as top fraud category

The FTC’s June 2026 press release confirms that imposter scams remained the most-reported fraud category in 2025, with consumers losing $3.5 billion—nearly triple the $1.2 billion lost in 2020. Business impersonators accounted for almost $1 billion of that total, often posing as bank employees or company representatives. The number of reports exceeded 1.5 million, up from 1.2 million in 2020, indicating a persistent and escalating fraud epidemic.

The CFPB under Acting Director Russell Vought has actively dismantled protections that could help combat these scams. On May 15, 2025, Vought rescinded an interpretive rule that would have applied federal consumer protections—including error-resolution and liability limits under EFTA—to emerging digital payment systems like payment apps and digital wallets, which are frequently used by imposter scammers. The Bureau also moved to revoke the repeat offender registry rule, which would have created a public database of nonbank companies with prior enforcement actions, making it harder for repeat offenders to operate. Additionally, a federal court vacated the time-barred debt collection interpretive rule in July 2025. The Digital Payment App Rule, which would have subjected large nonbank payment app providers to supervisory oversight, is currently not being enforced, and the Bureau is contemplating formally revoking it. These rollbacks remove critical safeguards that could help intercept fraudulent transactions and deter scammers from targeting consumers through unregulated platforms. Restoring these rules and empowering the FTC to regulate scam-enabling technologies—such as unregulated VoIP services and caller ID spoofing—would better protect households from the $3.5 billion annual toll.