Scam Statistics 2026 — global online fraud, impersonation, and crypto-scam numbers
A reference page for journalists, researchers, and policymakers. Every figure links to a primary source. Updated monthly. Permanent URL: https://gacs.app/scam-statistics-2026.
Live GACS registry — updated continuously
confirmed scam entities in the GACS registry (websites, wallets, tokens, phones)
phishing and scam websites tracked by GACS
new scam entities added to GACS in the last 30 days
new scam entities added to GACS in the last 7 days
victim-submitted scam reports on GACS
Snapshot generated Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:46:14 GMT. Free for editorial reuse with attribution + link back to this page.
Reported US consumer fraud losses, 2024 (latest finalised). 25% YoY increase.
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network 2024 report ↗Investment-scam losses, 2024 — the largest single category for the third year running.
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network 2024 report ↗FBI IC3 reported losses, 2024 — a 33% YoY increase, the highest ever recorded.
Source: FBI Internet Crime Report 2024 ↗FBI-tracked crypto-related fraud losses, 2024 — up from $3.9B in 2023.
Source: FBI Internet Crime Report 2024 ↗Median age of US victims with the highest single-incident losses (investment + pig-butchering).
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network 2024 ↗Share of US fraud reports where contact began on social media in 2024 (up from 17% in 2021).
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network 2024 ↗Share of investment-scam contacts in 2024 that originated on a social media platform.
Source: FTC Data Spotlight, 2024 ↗Adults globally who reported encountering an AI-generated scam call, message, or deepfake in 2025.
Source: McAfee Global State of the Scamiverse 2025 ↗Voice sample length now sufficient for production-grade voice cloning (down from 30s in 2023).
Source: McAfee 'Beware the Artificial Impostor' 2024 ↗Estimated global scam losses across 43 surveyed countries, 2024 calendar year.
Source: Global Anti-Scam Alliance, Global State of Scams Report 2024 ↗2026 trend takeaways
- →Total reported losses are rising faster than the number of reports — meaning scams are becoming more lucrative per incident, not more numerous.
- →Social media is now the dominant scam contact channel, overtaking phone and email for the first time in the FTC dataset.
- →Crypto and investment scams account for the majority of dollar losses despite representing a minority of incidents.
- →AI-generated voice, video, and text scams are no longer a future threat — McAfee and GASA both record mainstream consumer exposure in 2025.
For journalists
GACS provides aggregated and anonymised scam-trend data to credentialed press on request — including country-level breakdowns, platform breakdowns, and impersonator-handle frequency. Request data via /press-kit. We respond within 24 hours.
For permission to reuse these statistics in articles, attribution to "GACS Scam Statistics 2026" with a link to this page is sufficient. No prior approval required.
Methodology note
Loss figures reflect reported losses to the cited agencies. FTC and FBI both estimate that fewer than 10% of victims report; the true global figure is likely materially higher. We don't extrapolate; we cite what regulators publish.
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✓ Originally published on GACS — Global Anti-Crime & Safety. This statistics reference is maintained at https://gacs.app/scam-statistics-2026. Verify the latest version there before citing or republishing.
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