Tactics used by scammers have shifted drastically during the past several years, with online scams rising 87% since 2015, according to a new report published by the Institute for Marketplace Trust, a division of the Better Business Bureau. During the same period, scams perpetrated by phone declined by 42%. The report analyzes the changes in how scams are being perpetrated, including new information about impersonation and online purchase scams. This research is based on data from an analysis of more than 300,000 reports submitted to BBB Scam Tracker between 2015 and 2022, and survey research conducted in July 2022.
So far in 2022, scams perpetrated online are more prevalent (55%) than other delivery methods, with a higher percentage of people losing money when targeted (75%). When breaking out scams perpetrated via phone with a monetary loss, scams perpetrated via text message rose from 11% in 2015 to 30% in 2022. Scams perpetrated via text had a median dollar loss of $800 in 2022, higher than other reported means of contact. Text messaging was the most reported offline method used to push people online.
About 70% of respondents said they continued the online engagement because they hoped to gain something, sell something, or were curious to learn more. That’s compared to 30% who continued the engagement because they feared they’d lose something, were threatened, or thought there was an urgent situation they needed to address.
The scam type with a monetary loss most often reported was online purchase scams (89%), followed by cryptocurrency scams (87%), romance scams (85%), investment scams (73%), employment scams (68%), and government grant scams (64%).
Following their scam experience, 27% of those who lost money said they will hesitate to purchase products online; 19% of those who reported losing money said they will be more likely to purchase items in a store.
