F-Secure US Scam Intelligence & Impacts Report 2025

Behind every scam is a human cost. This year’s online scam report reveals how fraud has evolved into a psychological, social, and systemic weapon—reshaping trust among consumers, service providers, and the digital systems that connect them.

F-Secure US insights and fraud data analysis reveal a disconnect: most people trust their ability to spot scams—yet nearly two thirds still fell victim. Overconfidence leaves consumers exposed, and stigma leaves many too ashamed to speak out, making scams among the most underreported crimes today.

Key Findings

• Confidence ≠ Resilience: 80% of American consumers believe they can spot a scam—but 60% still fell victim in the past year.

• Victimization is Rising: Scam rates doubled in the United States from 31% in 2024 to 62% in 2025.

• Young Adults Are Most Exposed: Individuals aged 18–24 are 1.6 times more likely to experience cyber crime than adults aged 55–74.

• Underreporting is Widespread: Only 2.6% of scams are reported in the United States, largely due to victim blaming and feelings of shame.

• US Consumers Want Protection: 86% are likely to choose a carrier based on the security offered, and 55% are willing to pay for it.

2025 US Scam Landscape: How Overconfidence Leaves Consumers Vulnerable

By Timo Salmi, F-Secure Senior Solution Marketing Manager

In today’s hyperconnected world, consumers are more likely than ever to fall victim to scams. But not all see it that way—many believe they’re equipped to recognize and avoid them. This confidence offers a sense of control, but it can also be their greatest weakness.

According to US data from the F‑Secure Consumer Market Survey (January 2025), 80% of Americans believe they know how to spot a scam. Yet 60% of those confident individuals still fell victim in the past 12 months. This is the overconfidence effect in action—a cognitive bias where people overestimate their own knowledge or ability, leaving them blind to real risk.

Scam Victimization Is Rising Drastically

Scammers are quick to exploit these cognitive blind spots, using tactics like urgency and authority to override rational thinking. Our research shows that scam victimization in the United States has doubled in just 12 months, climbing from 31% to 62%.

Overall, 62% of US respondents reported falling victim to cyber crime in the past 12 months. The data shows no single dominant scam type—instead, threats are spread across a wide range of categories and channels. Email scams lead at 20%, followed by malware or virus attacks at 10%, credit card scams at 8%, and call scams and identity theft at 5% each.

Smaller but still significant numbers experienced SMS scams, social media scams, online banking scams, and online shopping scams. This variety underscores how cyber criminals are diversifying their tactics to target consumers in multiple ways, across every digital touchpoint.

Get more consumer insights (PDF, page 4)

Humanizing Scams: “How Could You Be So Stupid?”—A Victim’s Story

By Tracy Hall, Author, Speaker, and Advocate

In 2017, my world came crashing down when I woke up to a Crime Stoppers video of my boyfriend of almost 18 months being arrested outside his Bondi Beach apartment for swindling 15 Australian victims out of $7.6 million.

My boyfriend, Max Tavita—a Chief Investment Officer for a Family Office—was really Hamish McLaren, one of Australia’s most notorious con men. He stole my life savings ($317,000) and, it’s fair to say, my ability to trust.

The True Price of Trust

The human cost of financial crime is rarely discussed. We focus on money lost, the technology required to detect scams, and regulatory frameworks—but not the human toll. The lives devastated by the greed of others. Some who never recover.

The emotional aftermath of a scam can often be more damaging than the financial losses. It erodes self-trust, corrodes confidence, and lingers far longer than people realize. For me, the price of trust was years of recovery and rebuilding. Learning how to trust the world and myself again after such betrayal has been one of my greatest challenges.

Awareness Gap: 75% Expect Security—Yet 60% Don’t Know Their Carrier Offers It

By Bill Lott, F-Secure Head of Marketing, Embedded Solutions

In our latest F‑Secure Consumer Market Survey, which focused specifically on the US, respondents revealed just how pervasive digital scams have become. One in four Americans reported losing money to scams in the past year, with more than a quarter of those victims parting with serious amounts—ranging from $500 to over $5,000. But the impact of scams goes far beyond financial loss.

Among those who fell victim, anger and frustration (25%) were the most common reactions, followed by embarrassment or shame (23%), fear for personal safety or financial consequences (21%), feeling violated (17%), and inconvenience (13%). These varied emotional responses reflect the broader psychological toll of scams, fueling anxiety, mistrust, and hesitation in everyday digital life.

Despite the growing threat landscape, more than three quarters of consumers say they trust themselves most to stay safe from online scams. But when it comes to the tools they actually use, the data tells a different story.

Get more consumer insights (PDF, page 19)

The AI Scam Boom: 4 Ways Scammers Are Using Artificial Intelligence in 2025

By Dr Megan Squire, F-Secure Threat Intelligence Researcher

This year, AI is powering a new wave of scams—allowing threat actors to scale faster and look more convincing than ever. To better understand how criminals are using AI, we conducted an in-depth analysis of AI-driven scams in 2025, revealing four distinct ways the technology is being leveraged for fraudulent activity:

1. Target Selection – AI is used to identify and profile potential victims.

2. Infrastructure Development – AI builds the digital tools needed for attacks.

3. Content Generation – AI improves the personalization and credibility of scam bait.

4. Victim Communication – AI enables scammers to engage directly with targets.

We found that in 89% of our sample of AI-enhanced scams, AI was used for content generation. The vast majority of these involved enhancing phishing emails or impersonating people using voice cloning and deepfake video technology.

How AI is being used to enable scams in 2025

The Silent Toll of Scams: Breaking the Cycle of Shame and Inaction

By Jorij Abraham, Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) Managing Director

Online scams don’t just empty bank accounts—they damage trust, dignity, and personal wellbeing. In fact, growing research suggests that the emotional trauma caused by virtual crimes can actually exceed that of physical ones.

A study by the Dutch police found that victims of digital crime often report higher levels of peritraumatic stress than those affected by physical incidents, including burglary and even sexual assault. Because there’s no physical interaction, people tend to underestimate the impact of online scams. The emotional damage, however, is real and lasting.

Blame’s Role in Silencing Victims

One of the most damaging aspects of online scams isn’t the scam itself—it’s how society responds to victims. While those affected by physical crimes are often met with sympathy, victims of online fraud are frequently dismissed, ridiculed, or shamed.

Instead of empathy, they’re met with blame: “How could you be so stupid?” Public shaming is even common on professional platforms like LinkedIn, where one user told a scam victim, “Even my 90-year-old mother wouldn’t fall for that.”

This culture of judgment deepens the emotional toll, fueling shame and silence. And data supports this trend: just 5% of burglary victims experience victim blaming, compared to 27% of individuals whose online bank accounts have been hacked. The numbers are even more troubling when it comes to sexual crime, with 22% of sexual assault victims reporting blame, versus 36% of those subjected to image-based sexual abuse.

Dive deeper into GASA data (PDF, page 33)

2025 Financial Threats: Top 3 Banking Scams Targeting Americans

By Dr Megan Squire, F-Secure Threat Intelligence Researcher

In 2024, fraud cost American consumers $12.5 billion, as cyber criminals exploited weaknesses in US consumer protection laws and outdated banking infrastructure. To understand how these attacks work, the following analysis examines the scam kill chain of the three most prevalent banking scams targeting Americans—focusing on the psychological manipulation and systemic vulnerabilities that enable their success.

1. Bank Impersonation Scams

This sophisticated scam typically begins with a fake fraud alert SMS: “Bank of America: Suspicious transaction of $2,500. Reply NO if this wasn’t you.” When victims respond, they receive a call from someone claiming to be from their bank’s fraud department, often with a spoofed caller ID matching the bank’s real number.

The scammer creates urgency, warning that the victim’s account is being drained. They instruct the victim to open their banking app and “reverse” the fraudulent transaction by sending money to a “secure holding account” via Zelle or Bitcoin payments. In reality, the funds go directly to the scammer.

2. Romance and Investment Scams

Romance scams remain among the most financially devastating frauds, often draining victims’ life savings. These scams typically start on dating apps or social media, where scammers build emotional connections over weeks or months.

Once trust is established, a financial angle emerges—ranging from a medical emergency to a cryptocurrency investment. The “pig butchering” variant is especially cruel: scammers use fake apps to show fabricated investment returns, encouraging victims to invest more and more money.

3. Check Overpayment Scams

Despite being outdated in many countries, paper checks remain widely used in the US, creating opportunities for fraud. These scams exploit the confusing delay between funds appearing in an account and the actual clearing of a check.

Scams typically begin with fake job offers, housing rentals, or online marketplace listings. The scammer sends a check for more than the agreed amount—say, $1,500 for a $500 item—and then claims it was a mistake, asking the victim to return the difference via Zelle, wire transfer, or gift cards.

Learn why each scam works (PDF, page 39)

The Future of Scams: What the Next 5 Years Could Bring

Insights from Sarogini Muniyandi, Joel Latto, and Laura Kankaala

Scams are adapting fast—and the next wave could be more personal than ever. This chapter explores what might come next, from AI agents and all-in identity theft to moments of trust that open the door to deception.

1. Trust Triggers: Scammers Are Hacking Human Behavior

As cyber security grows stronger, the human layer is becoming the primary attack surface. Sarogini Muniyandi, Head of Scam Research & Defense Engineering at F-Secure, highlights how ‘money moments’— key interactions when people move or manage money online—are increasingly targeted in modern scams. These aren’t random attacks; they’re engineered to strike when emotional pressure is high, and attention is low.

2. All-In Identity Theft: The Next Frontier for Scammers?

Identity theft isn’t new—but it’s always evolving. F-Secure Threat Advisor Joel Latto explores the emergence of something more insidious: all-in identity theft. Instead of stopping at surface details, scammers could assemble full digital personas—starting with common personal data and adding stronger identifiers like passports or Social Security numbers, and even audio or video clips from social media to create deepfakes.

3. AI Agents: A Future Tool for Scammers—But Not Yet

AI agents are designed to do more than answer questions—they can act on our behalf. Laura Kankaala, Head of Threat Intelligence at F-Secure, explores how scammers could exploit them to automate spam campaigns, run convincing conversations, commit financial theft, and validate stolen data—while also explaining why, for now, these risks remain only theoretical.

Discover more predictions (PDF, page 43)