TL;DR: FTC 2024 data shows fraud that started with contact through social media generated $1.07 billion in reported losses across 186,663 reports with a dollar loss and a median loss of $633 — making social media the costliest single contact method the FTC tracks.
FTC 2024 data shows fraud that started with contact through social media generated $1.07 billion in reported losses across 186,663 reports with a dollar loss and a median loss of $633 — making social media the costliest single contact method the FTC tracks.
What the Data Shows
Social media platforms have become scammers' preferred starting point precisely because they combine easy first contact with built-in trust signals like mutual friends or public profiles — a stranger reaching out there deserves the same skepticism as a cold call.
Why This Matters
Numbers like these are a reminder that this isn’t a rare event — it’s a routine risk. Checking whether your own information has already been exposed takes 30 seconds and costs nothing.
If this looks similar to something else you've seen, it's worth reading Tax Fraud Statistics 2026.
This pattern shows up elsewhere too — see Text Message Scam Statistics 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the numbers actually show?
FTC 2024 data shows fraud that started with contact through social media generated $1.07 billion in reported losses across 186,663 reports with a dollar loss and a median loss of $633 — making social media the costliest single contact method the FTC tracks.
What does this mean for you?
Social media platforms have become scammers' preferred starting point precisely because they combine easy first contact with built-in trust signals like mutual friends or public profiles — a stranger reaching out there deserves the same skepticism as a cold call.
Where does this data come from?
This data is drawn from FTC – Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024, a primary reporting source for fraud and identity theft data.