Americans have lost $215 million to one growing phone scam, FBI says

A phone scam costs Americans $215 million

The FBI is actively warning about a rapidly growing phone scam that has already cost Americans more than $215 million, according to newly released federal cybercrime data.

The scheme relies on a tactic called spoofing, in which criminals disguise their phone number to appear as a trusted bank or law enforcement agency.

How spoofing actually works

Spoofing lets scammers manipulate caller ID so a phone displays a familiar, trustworthy number, even though the call is actually coming from somewhere else entirely.

That illusion makes it far more difficult for victims to recognize a call as fraudulent, since the number displayed on the screen appears entirely legitimate at first glance.

Callers impersonate trusted institutions

Reported victims described scammers posing as representatives from Chase Bank, Huntington Bank, and in some cases, even the FBI itself during these fraudulent phone calls.

Scammers typically create a strong sense of urgency, warning victims their accounts are compromised or under investigation, pressuring them to act quickly without thinking things through carefully.

More than 191,000 complaints in one year

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged over 191,000 spoofing and impersonation complaints during 2025 alone, making it one of the most common scam types reported.

Despite the high volume of complaints, direct financial losses from this specific category were relatively modest compared with other, more costly categories of online fraud.

The scam fits a much larger pattern

Spoofing is just one small piece of a much larger cybercrime problem, with the FBI’s crime complaint center actively tracking dozens of distinct fraud categories across the country.

Business email compromise and tech support scams brought in even larger total losses, reaching $3 billion and $2.1 billion respectively during that same single year.

Total cybercrime losses hit a record high

Across all categories, Americans reported losing nearly $21 billion to online scams during 2025 alone, the highest total the FBI has ever recorded in a single year. That figure marks a sharp jump from $16.6 billion in 2024 and just $12.5 billion 2 years earlier, showing losses accelerating rapidly across the country.

Investment fraud alone accounted for nearly $8.7 billion of that record total, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The surge reflects how scammers are combining cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and increasingly convincing tactics to drain more money from more victims than ever before.

Little-known fact: Americans reported a record $21 billion in cybercrime losses in 2025, with investment fraud alone accounting for nearly $8.7 billion, according to the FBI.

Older adults face the steepest losses

Adults 60 and older filed more than 201,000 fraud complaints in 2025, a 37% increase from the year before, and reported $7.7 billion in total combined losses to the FBI.

That works out to an average loss of more than $38,000 per victim, underscoring just how financially devastating these scams can be for older Americans. More than 12,000 seniors reported losing over $100,000 each, underscoring how large individual losses can be.

AI is making these calls harder to detect

The FBI notes that AI-generated content is becoming increasingly difficult to detect, allowing criminals to run far more convincing fraud schemes against unsuspecting everyday consumers nationwide.

Voice cloning technology has supercharged so-called grandparent scams, allowing criminals to generate audio that sounds exactly like a distressed family member in genuine trouble.

Banks are urging extra caution

Chase representatives publicly urged consumers to ignore any phone, text, or internet requests to move money or grant access to their computers or bank accounts.

Financial institutions generally note that legitimate banks typically won’t call customers to ask for account information or to move funds during an unexpected, unsolicited phone call.

A pending lawsuit could reshape who pays

An ongoing lawsuit against Citigroup, currently working its way through New York courts, could determine whether federal law actually requires banks to reimburse victims of these spoofed calls.

The outcome could have significant implications for how financial institutions handle fraud claims tied to impersonation scams going forward across the entire national banking industry.

Warning signs to watch for

Red flags include unexpected calls creating sudden urgency, requests for gift cards or wire transfers, and pressure to act before you can independently verify the caller.

Legitimate institutions rarely demand immediate action over the phone, and genuine bank employees won’t ever ask customers to move funds into a separate, supposedly safer account.

Little-known fact: Built-in phone settings and carrier spam-blocking tools can significantly reduce unwanted calls and texts, helping protect against scams and robocalls.

What to do if you get a suspicious call

If you receive an unexpected call from your bank or law enforcement, experts strongly recommend hanging up and calling the institution back using an officially verified number.

Never provide personal information, account numbers, or one-time codes to someone who called you unexpectedly, even if the caller ID appears entirely legitimate at first.

Want to stay informed about emerging threats targeting bank customers? Check out why the FBI warns ATM jackpotting attacks are spreading across the U.S.

Reporting a scam matters more than people think

Victims of spoofing or other scams are strongly encouraged to file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov as soon as possible. Officials note that reported losses are likely an undercount overall, since many victims never file a report at all, often out of embarrassment or uncertainty.

Financial scams are expected to keep evolving as artificial intelligence tools become more accessible to criminals, and experts say Americans should prepare for even more convincing schemes in the years ahead. Staying alert and reporting suspicious calls quickly remains one of the best ways to limit the damage.

Want to read more about the next wave of financial scams? Check out how AI could turbocharge bank scams, and Americans are being told to prepare.

What do you think is the best way to protect people from phone scams? Share your thoughts in the comments, and leave a like if raising awareness helps prevent fraud.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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