With a single phone call, Christy Taylor said she lost her life savings.
A few months back, Taylor told us her caller ID showed someone from her bank calling.
She answered, and when the caller claimed the bank found a fraudulent withdrawal from her account, she followed instructions.
"He said you need to take your money out and transfer it and put it into another bank,” Taylor said.
She transferred almost $10,000 onto a prepaid debit card and gave the caller the new card number. But by the time she took her money to another bank, she said the funds were gone.
“That's our life savings,” she said.
Victims losing more than ever to scams
Americans may be starting the new year with a resolution to save money. But another goal to consider is keeping hard-earned money safe from criminals.
"Let's be clear, every single one of us is a target of frauds and scams,” said Amy Nofziger, the director of fraud victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network.
According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, victims reported losing $10 billion to scams in 2023. That is the highest ever in losses reported to the FTC in a single year.
"We're a little too loose with our names and addresses, but it's considered personally identifiable information,” said Steve Earls, head of cybersecurity for IDShield. “As individuals, we need to think about that a little bit more."
A scammy snapshot
According to the FTC, imposter scams, online shopping fraud and investment scams are among the most-reported schemes.
"Eighty percent of people who report scams to (the BBB’s) Scam Tracker about investment scams, lose their money,” said Melanie McGovern, national spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau.
Another highly reported scam to the FTC was fake business and job opportunities.
Deb Kovacs-Stutevant nearly fell victim to a work-from-home job scam, when we spoke with her this past summer.
But when her first assignment was to cash a $2,400 check, she said she knew something wasn’t right.
"Some people may even be really down and out,” she said, “and then they are going to take advantage of them. That is just awful."
The next wave of scams to watch for in 2025
Now, AI is making scams even harder to detect.
"We're getting really close to the point where you and I are on Zoom, and honestly there is a day very close, where you won't be able to know if it's actually me talking to you,” said Mike Kaput, chief content officer at the Marketing AI Institute. “We're almost there."
Patrick Bolling said he’s uneasy about the use of artificial intelligence.
“You can't trust anything, and you can't believe anything,” he said.
So be aware of the scams targeting you in 2025, so you don’t waste your money.
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