Fraud is generally defined as the intentional deception of an entity or a person by another for money or personal gain. The specific laws and charges for fraud vary by state and federal jurisdiction. Year after year, Florida leads the country in fraud and identity theft complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission. Nearly two dozen cities reporting the most fraud in the U.S. are in Florida. The FTC received over 5 million complaints in 2022.
Understanding more about fraud
According to the FTC, the leading type of fraud in the U.S. during 2022 was identity theft, accounting for 21.5 percent, or over 1.1 million consumer complaints. Imposter scams were next, accounting for 14.1 percent, or nearly 726,000 reports of people falsely posing as the government, a romantic interest, a bereaved relative, or technical support, among others, to get money from consumers. One in five fraud scams were sent via text during 2022.
Fraud in the U.S. during 2022
The most common type of identity theft in 2022 was credit card fraud, totaling over 441,000 reports of misused consumer information. Other common types of identity theft worthy of a criminal defense include bank fraud, loan fraud, tax-related fraud and benefits fraud. Totaling over 100,000 reports and $3.82 million in losses during 2022, investment fraud is where consumers typically lose the most. Alongside securities fraud, insurance fraud is also widespread in the U.S.
Over 691,000 reports, or 13.42 percent, were reports on interactions with credit bureaus, report users and information furnishers. With over 325,000 reports, online shopping and negative reviews was another common type of fraud in the U.S. during 2022. These reports included undisclosed costs, non-delivery, internet auctions and attempts to censor honest reviews online. Other common types of fraud include telemarketing fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud.