TrojanTraders review 2023 | File A Scam complaint (2024)

FAQs

What is the biggest scam in 2023? ›

Highest Loss Category: Imposter Scams

The top category culprit in 2023 was imposter scams, causing $2.7 billion in losses.

And email was the #1 contact method for scammers this year, especially when scammers pretended to be a business or government agency to steal money. Here are other takeaways for 2023: Imposter scams. Imposter scams remained the top fraud category, with reported losses of $2.7 billion.

Consumers lost a record $10 billion to fraud in 2023, and imposter scams were the most prevalent swindle, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Nearly 854,000 people filed complaints to the FTC about imposter scams in 2023.

The short answer is: it depends. While getting a refund after losing money to scammers is possible, the outcome depends on factors like bank policy, the type of scam, the amount lost, and how quickly the scam was reported. According to US federal law, banks must reimburse you for unauthorized transactions.

Take a good look at the domain name to ensure it matches the official website. Fake sites often use domain names similar to official URLs or that may even contain the official URL. Look for a closed padlock or tune icon in the site's address bar that indicates a site has a valid security certificate to block hackers.

Charles Ponzi – 1920s

No description of the biggest frauds in history would be complete without mention of the infamous Ponzi scheme. Charles Ponzi was arrested almost a century to the day, finally earning his comeuppance on August 12, 1920. He earned a whole lot more before that through his fraud.

There will always be an excuse why they can't meet in person or show themselves on camera. They say they live overseas or somewhere remote, or their technology isn't working.

If you used a money transfer service

It's unlikely you'll be able to get your money back if you've paid through a wire service such as MoneyGram, PayPoint or Western Union. Even if you can't get your money back, there are other things you can do – like reporting the scam and getting financial or emotional support.

Based on reports to Scamwatch in 2021, women reported the most scams but men lost more money than women, and men's losses to investment scams were double women's losses. In culturally and linguistically diverse communities, women had slightly higher losses than men.

What age gets scammed the most? ›

Reported cases of fraud, by age of victims U.S. 2022

In 2022, the most commonly targeted age group by fraudsters was people ages 30 to 39, among whom 205,154 cases of fraud were reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States.

Contact the company or bank that issued the credit card or debit card. Tell them it was a fraudulent charge. Ask them to reverse the transaction and give you your money back. Did a scammer make an unauthorized transfer from your bank account?

Utilize social media platforms to search for the scammer's name or usernames. Look for any profiles or accounts that match details they provided you with. Employ reverse search tools designed to connect names, phone numbers, or email addresses to publicly available information.

The Electronic Fund Transfer Act provides important protections when consumers suffer unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts. For instance, so long as a person promptly notifies their bank that access to their account has been stolen, the law limits the person's losses to $50.

Once one of Wall Street's most influential figures, Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff ran one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history for almost two decades. He pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, confessing that he had transformed his wealth management company into the world's biggest Ponzi scheme.

Consumers lost $1.14 billion to romance scams in 2023, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Median losses per person amounted to $2,000, the highest reported losses for any form of imposter scam, the FTC found. “Romance scams tend to be some of the more insidious because they prey on emotions,” Kitten said.

1. California: Fraud Capital of the U.S.

In the first quarter of 2023, California ranked first in terms of total fraud reports, with a count of roughly 47,000. Relative to population, it came in 18th place, with 244 reports for every 100,000 residents.

Bernie Madoff was sentenced in 2009 to 150 years in prison after his investment firm Bernard L. Madoff Investments Securities fell apart, costing investors an estimated $65 billion in losses – one of the biggest frauds ever seen in America.