PORTLAND (WGME) — Scammers are increasingly turning to social media to target victims, and the financial toll is rising fast.
New data from the Federal Trade Commission shows nearly 30 percent of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said it started on a social media platform. Total reported losses reached $2.1 billion, making social media the most costly way scammers are connecting with victims.
That figure represents an 800 percent increase since 2020, underscoring how quickly fraudsters have adapted their tactics.
“Social media can be a great way to connect but can also make a scammer’s job easier,” the FTC wrote in its report. “They might hack into your account to scam your friends or even create entirely fake profiles. Or they might use what you post to figure out how to target you.”
The FTC says social media platforms owned by Meta, including Facebook, Instagram and…
Review your monthly bank statements and credit card bills line-by-line to spot small “tester” transactions of R5 or R10, which fraudsters use to verify if a stolen card is still active.