Michigan residents lost $152 million to fraud in 2023

Michigan residents lost $151.7 million to fraud in 2023, according to a new Federal Trade Commission report.

Why it matters: Americans lost a record $10 billion to fraudsters last year, with no group — young, old or even the computer-savvy — showing immunity to increasingly sophisticated scams, according to the FTC and other consumer protection groups.

Driving the news: Michiganders filed more than 52,000 fraud reports in 2023, with the median loss per victim about $410, per the FTC.

• In fact, over the last few years, Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Zers were 86% more likely to report losing money to online shopping scams than older adults.

The big picture: Law enforcement often doesn't have enough officers or field agents to go after every single instance of fraud — especially if only a few hundred dollars were stolen.

• Scammers know this and tend to target seemingly smaller amounts to keep their activities under the radar.

Zoom in: Impostor scams, identity theft, loan fraud and online shopping and review fraud were the most common types of scams.

• Online shopping and review fraud includes fake stores, fake ads and fake or dishonest product reviews.
• Impostor scams, which can include romance scams, occur when a person is tricked into sending money through a transaction app like Venmo or Cash App, wire transfer or gift cards by someone claiming to be someone else, according to the Better Business Bureau.

Worthy of your time: What to do if you were scammed and other tips from the FTC