Six percent of U.S. adults report they were personally scammed last year, with those scams costing an estimated $68 billion, or four times what was reported to federal authorities, according to a new survey by the Stop Scams Alliance and Gallup. The American Bankers Association Foundation is a member of the alliance.
The survey found that while 6% of respondents said they were personally scammed last year, 24% reported they were scammed at some point in their lives. About one in 10 have been scammed more than once, and roughly four in 10 said they are contacted by an attempted scam daily.
Nearly half of individuals (46%) say their household experienced at least a moderate financial hardship as a result of being scammed, including 21% who say it was a severe hardship. Nearly three in four individuals whose households were scammed said it hurt their mental health or well-being.
The most common entry points for scams were online purchases, phone calls and social media, according to the survey. At the same time, most scams are reported to banks, with only 13% of individuals who were scammed reporting the incident to the Federal Trade Commission or federal law enforcement. The vast majority of U.S. adults (82%) believe the government is doing too little to prevent scams.
Editor’s note: This item has been updated to correct the percentage of U.S. adults who reported being scammed in 2025. We apologize for the error.
