Connecticut consumers are getting conned, and the trend shows no sign of slowing.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported Thursday that Connecticut consumers lost roughly $57.5 million to scams last year with a median loss of $670.
Year-over-year, the amount of money lost to scams continues to grow in Connecticut. The FTC reports monetary losses in 2022 are now more than six times what they were in 2018.
Following a national trend, the number of fraud reports in Connecticut was down in 2022 compared to the prior year, but state losses were up – increasing by nearly $15 million.
Nationally, consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, up from $5.8 billion in 2021. Consumers reported losing more money to investment scams than any other category in 2022. The second-highest reported loss amount came from impostor scams.
In Connecticut, the top category of scam reports received from consumers was identity theft, followed by impostor scams.
Impostor scams come in many varieties – think someone falsely claiming to be with the Social Security Administration or a “grandchild” requesting bail – but all involve a scammer pretending to be someone you trust and asking for money.
The FTC says the Social Security Administration will never call to threaten benefits or ask for money to be sent via wire transfer or gift cards. “Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer,” the agency says. “Every time.”
The FTC says consumers can report fraud, scams or bad business practices at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.
