Amount Does Not Matter: FBI Agent Encourages Everyone to Report Scams

Losses from scam are on the rise in the U.S. In 2024, Americans lost $16 billion to scam, a 33% increase from 2023.

The state of Wyoming follows the national trend, with local residents losing more than $43 million to scams last year. Compared to 2023, that amount rose by $30 million, 230%.

A recent report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Internet Crime Center showed that Wyoming ranked third in the nation for per capita losses to scam. In particular, losses from investment scam ranked second among all types at $13 million.

U.S. authorities have found that the year-over-year increase in losses from scam is linked to hacking and personal data breaches. Scammers use compromised personal data to open bank accounts, credit cards or loans in the victim's name.

Special Agent Eric Burns from the FBI's Denver office said the FBI's Cybercrime Complaint Center (IC3) takes every case seriously, regardless of the amount of money scammed. He suggested that anyone who has experienced a scam should report it to the IC3, and said many people assume the FBI only investigates high-amount crimes, but that was not the case.

“That's a common misconception that it has to hit a certain dollar threshold in order for us to resource it, but that's just not true,” he explained.

Burns encourages everyone to report any scam, even if they haven't been scammed out of money.