FTC: Please stop falling for social media scams, you've given crooks at least $650M so far this year

The most frequently reported rackets on social media during the first half of 2023 related to online shopping swindles, specifically clothing and electronics, which accounted for 44 percent, or 24,640, of reported incidents. These usually involve someone buying something advertised on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, and then never receiving the product.

While online shopping fraud is the most common issue, people are losing more money from social-media schemes promoting phony investment opportunities and romance cons, according to the FTC's totals from January to June.

"A typical modus operandi may involve money-making promotions for purported investment opportunities, often using cryptocurrency as the hook," the FTC's Data Spotlight indicated. "Scammers lure people to websites or apps with their own supposed 'success stories,' but consumers ultimately end up empty-handed and with empty wallets."

Total losses reported during this six-month period totaled $658 million, of which 8 percent were due to online shopping trickery, 53 percent were related to investment scams, 14 percent romance bait, and 27 percent classified as "other."

It's worth noting that most online fraud is never reported, so in reality all of these numbers are much higher. As the FTC says, these figures "reflect just a small fraction of the public harm." In more than half the investment-scam reports, netizens paid criminals using cryptocurrency.