People in Texas are losing millions more to fraud
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Texans reported losing nearly $900 million to fraud last year, per new federal data — up more than 35% from $662 million in 2023.
Why it matters: The spike suggests fraudsters are outpacing both law enforcement and efforts to educate consumers on how to protect themselves.
The big picture: Nationally, Americans reported losing over $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, per the Federal Trade Commission data — up a staggering 25% from 2023.
By the numbers: In Texas, there were 162,101 reports of fraud in 2024. Imposter scams and online shopping were the top types of fraud.
Zoom in: In the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area, imposter scams were also the top type of fraud last year, with more than 4,700 such FTC reports.
- There were a total of 36,765 reports of fraud in the San Antonio area in 2024 — up nearly 29% from 28,521 in 2023.
Between the lines: Texans ages 60-69 were the age group who reported losing the most money to fraud in 2024, with nearly $86 million reported lost.
- And while many fraudsters prey on older, less digitally savvy people, Texans in their 20s still reported losing nearly $16 million to fraud last year. Texans in their 30s lost nearly $54 million.
Caveat: FTC fraud reports are voluntary, and many instances of fraud and other scams go unreported — meaning all these numbers are probably undercounts.