Consumer fraud losses surged to $12.5 billion in 2024, marking a 25% increase over the previous year, according to a new report by the FTC released this week. While the number of fraud reports has remained steady, the FTC found that the percentage of consumers who said they lost money skyrocketed—from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024.
The FTC findings were part of its annual release of insights from Consumer Sentinel, the FTC’s repository of consumer complaints from across multiple government agencies and other sources. During 2024, Consumer Sentinel received 6.5 million consumer complaints, an all-time high. Of these complaints, 2.6 million involved fraud (40% of all reports), and 1.1 million of involved identity theft (18%).
Investment and Imposter Scams Lead the Surge
The FTC found that consumers reported $5.7 billion in losses to investment scams, the highest among all categories. Close behind were imposter scams, accounting for nearly $3 billion in reported losses.
Even more alarming is the shift in how money is being lost. Scams involving bank transfers and cryptocurrency payments now account for the majority of consumer losses—bypassing more traditional methods like credit cards or checks. This evolution highlights the increasing sophistication of fraudulent activity and the growing importance of real-time identity and income verification in underwriting and loan origination.
Employment Scams Highlight Need for Better Applicant Validation
Another noteworthy trend: losses from job and employment agency scams surged from $90 million in 2020 to over $500 million in 2024. This rapid growth underscores the need for better vetting and verification of applicant-submitted documents and claims—not just in employment, but also in auto lending and other financial services.
Lenders must be equipped to detect document tampering, inconsistent employment histories, and unverifiable income sources at scale. The Consumer Sentinel 2024 data indicated 176,000 consumer-reported cases of identity theft involving loan and leases, and another 115,000 cases of identity theft involving bank accounts. Automated stipulation clearance and smart underwriting tools can help mitigate this growing risk.
Digital Verification: A Necessary Defense Against a Rising Threat
As fraud continues to evolve, so must the tools that financial institutions use to combat it. Time-consuming manual review processes, legacy systems, and siloed data are no match for today’s high-stakes threat landscape.
That’s where AI-powered document intelligence tools from Informed.IQ can support lenders in strengthening their fraud prevention strategies. By automating income validation, identity verification, and fraud detection at the point of underwriting, lenders can:
- Streamline loan processing and reduce the need for manual review
- Cut down on contracts-in-transit delays
- Quickly flag potential fraud for review (powered by Informed’s trusted industry consortium of 80+ million records)
- Ensure alignment with compliance policies
- Reduce operational costs related to fraud investigation
- Improve the customer and dealer experience
Real-time, digital verification is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic imperative.
What the Latest FTC Data Means for Financial Services
As scammers refine their tactics, it’s clear that traditional verification processes are no longer enough. For auto lenders and financial institutions, this is a loud wake-up call to modernize fraud prevention strategies with smarter, digital-first tools.
Stay Ahead of Fraud with Data-Driven Compliance
At Informed.IQ, we help lenders digitally verify consumer data in real time, reducing manual errors, accelerating funding times, and minimizing risk exposure. As fraud becomes more complex, our mission remains the same: to empower financial institutions with the tools they need to stay compliant, protect consumers, and move faster with confidence.
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New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 Billion in 2024
A Scammy Snapshot of 2024
