Common Scams Right Now (2026): An International Field Guide
TL;DR: Americans reported losing a record $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025. This is a map of what's actually circulating right now — imposter calls, toll-text smishing, fake renewal invoices, holiday shopping scams, and more — each with a link to the full breakdown.
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Fraud losses hit an all-time high across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia in 2025, and the specific scripts keep evolving. This page is a working map of what's active right now.
Call and message scams
- Bank and government imposter calls — the single most commonly reported scam category, with over 1 million reports and $3.5 billion in losses in the US alone. See Bank and Government Imposter Scam Calls.
- Social Security impersonation calls — fake SSA agents threatening suspension of your benefits or Social Security number. See Social Security Impersonation Calls.
- The EZ Pass unpaid toll text scam — a mass smishing campaign impersonating toll agencies nationwide. See The EZ Pass Toll Text Scam.
- The Geek Squad renewal email scam — a fake, inflated subscription invoice designed to trigger a panicked callback. See The Geek Squad Renewal Email Scam.
Shopping and job scams
- Holiday and e-commerce shopping scams — fake stores and shipping notifications that spike every November–December. See Holiday and E-Commerce Shopping Scams.
- Fake job offer and LinkedIn recruiter scams — deceptive employment offers, now the FTC's 5th most reported scam category. See Fake Job Offer Scams.
- QR code scams ("quishing") — fraudulent codes on parking meters, menus, and flyers. See QR Code Scams Internationally.
The AI layer
AI voice cloning is now showing up across imposter and family-emergency scams alike — see AI Voice Cloning Scam Calls for what these actually sound like and how to verify.
If it's already happened to you
If money has already moved or you've already shared something you shouldn't have, go straight to I Just Got Scammed in the US — What Do I Do Right Now? or the fuller complete international recovery guide.
Reducing what scammers can already find
Most of these scripts lean on a detail that sounds specific to you — a name, an employer, an address. That's frequently pulled from data broker sites; see the data broker opt-out guide for the UK, Canada, and Australia, or the US version. A Scan My Shadow report checks what's tied to your own phone number and email.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the most commonly reported scam right now?
Imposter scams — someone posing as a bank, government agency, or trusted business — are the single most commonly reported scam category in the US, with over 1 million reports and roughly $3.5 billion in losses in the most recent full year of data.
Which scam category causes the biggest financial losses?
Investment scams cause the largest dollar losses overall, at roughly $7.9 billion — nearly half of all money reported lost to fraud — even though they're reported less frequently than imposter scams.
Are these scams seasonal?
Some are — holiday and e-commerce shopping scams spike sharply every November and December, while others like toll-text smishing and imposter calls run year-round.
What should I do if I've already lost money to one of these?
Contact your bank or card issuer immediately, then report to the FBI's IC3 and the FTC, and use the complete international recovery guide to find the steps specific to your situation.
Is there a single habit that helps against most of these?
Treating any unsolicited urgent request for money, personal information, or a callback number as unverified until you independently confirm it through an official channel blocks the mechanism behind nearly all of them.
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