What to know about the AP/FRONTLINE investigation into scam victims

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Scams in the U.S. have surged to a record high, and most people have been targeted. Americans reported a record $15.9 billion in losses last year to the Federal Trade Commission — a 25% increase from 2024, and likely a huge undercount. The FTC estimates that real losses in 2024 were close to $200 billion, or about $550 million every day.

An investigation by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE found that despite attempts by both the Trump administration and Congress to fight scams, victims still have little recourse. The investigation included interviews with 58 victims.

Here are other takeaways:

— Virtually nobody is immune to scams. Ninety-eight percent of Americans suspect they have been targeted with scam messages, many every day, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Three in 10 said they have personally lost money or information to scams. The 58 victims interviewed by the AP/FRONTLINE were aged 32 to 90, lost several thousand dollars to $4 million each and ranged from IT professionals and academics to people just trying to make ends meet. Several said they contemplated suicide, and two attempted it. Only one got money back, from her bank.

— After the scam, many victims end up paying more in taxes. The IRS often demands that retirees, including scam victims, pay taxes on funds they withdrew from tax-deferred accounts like their retirement savings. Before 2018, victims of theft or fraud could sometimes deduct losses incurred from their taxable income. But under a provision of the Trump administration’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, made permanent in 2025, personal losses from many common scams are not eligible for tax breaks. That means victims can owe taxes after money was stolen from them.

— Some victims are also penalized by banks that blame them or even accuse them of being complicit. Victims described having their accounts abruptly frozen or cancelled, along with demands for repayment on loans and legal fees. Earlier this year, American Bankers Association Chair Kenneth Kelly said banks spend “time, money and significant resources” trying to stop fraud, which usually refers to unauthorized transactions. But under current U.S. law, financial institutions are rarely liable for transactions their customers authorize.

— The U.S. lags behind several other countries in protecting consumers. Since late 2024, financial services companies in the United Kingdom have generally had to reimburse clients tricked into sending money to scammers. And trained social workers sometimes visit scam victims. The European Union is also rolling out rules that make financial institutions potentially liable for scammed funds if they don’t put in adequate fraud protections, and its Digital Services Act requires platforms to quickly act on reported scam content. In Australia, financial institutions, telecommunications companies and digital platforms can be fined or forced to compensate victims if they don’t do enough to prevent and respond to scam activity. And in Singapore, banks and telecom companies may have to repay victims of certain phishing scams if they fail to implement required safeguards. Police can temporarily restrict bank transfers of someone who they believe to be a victim, and they sit physically with bank and e-commerce platform staff in a national anti-scam center.

— The rise of cryptocurrency has helped fuel scams because it is a form of digital cash that can be hard to trace to its real owners. China bans crypto-related businesses, while the European Union requires licensing, consumer protections and broad disclosures. But while the Trump administration has backed some cryptocurrency regulation, it has also promised to halt “aggressive enforcement actions and regulatory overreach.” the GENIUS Actsigned by President Donald Trump last year to regulate some cryptocurrencies did not require companies to return stolen funds to fraud victims - a gap that consumer advocates, prosecutors and some lawmakers have criticized. Unlike bank deposits, crypto assets are not backed by federal insurance. Many cryptocurrency exchanges operate across borders and through offshore entities where U.S. laws may not apply.

— The U.S. government is waking up to the threat. Congress is considering more than a dozen bills to prevent scams, including one to establish a centralized website for complaints and another to require disclosures on deepfakes and other AI-generated content. The Justice Department in November unveiled a strike force to fight scam centers in Southeast Asia, and the Treasury has levied sanctions on them. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order in March directing the attorney general to prioritize the prosecution of scammers and to submit a recommendation for a program to restore money to victims.

— Fledgling efforts to help victims get money back aren’t keeping up with the tsunami of those who have lost it. Efforts are still piecemeal: At least 13 federal agencies touch on different aspects of these crimes, according to a report issued by the Government Accountability Office. The FBI’s Operation Level Up has stopped about 8,500 people from falling for scams over almost two years by calling them to intervene, according to former FBI Financial Crimes Section chief Rebecca Keithley. But that’s a small fraction of victims, with the FBI receiving nearly 3,000 internet crime complaints a day on average through its IC3.gov portal.

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This story is part of an ongoing collaboration between The Associated Press and FRONTLINE (PBS) that includes the documentary “Scammed,” premiering Tuesday, Sept. 29, on PBS and online.

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The Associated Press receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/