New data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows bank impersonation was the most-reported text message scam in 2022. Consumers reported losses of $330 million to text message scams last year, more than doubling losses reported in 2021. Median reported losses were approximately $1,000.
The data analysis looked at a random sample of 1,000 text messages reported to the FTC in 2022, finding that fake bank security messages, often supposedly from large banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, were the most common type, making up 10 percent of reported scam text messages reported.
These texts are designed to create a sense of urgency, often by asking people to verify a large transaction they did not make. Those who respond are connected to a fake bank representative. Reports of texts impersonating banks have increased nearly twentyfold since 2019.
After bank impersonation, the most frequently reported text scams were: messages claiming to offer a free gift, often from a cell phone carrier or retailer; fake claims of package delivery issues from the USPS, UPS, or FedEx; phony job offers for things like mystery shopping and car wrapping; and bogus Amazon security alerts.