Over the past year, Pennsylvanians have seen their healthcare coverage vanish, lost access to safety-net programs like SNAP, and watched the cost of housing, groceries, and gas steadily increase.
To add insult to injury, they’ve also seen an increase in online scams and crimes, to the tune of billions of dollars.
A new report from the Consumer Federation of America estimates that Pennsylvania residents lost $3.8 billion to online scams and cyber crimes in 2025. That’s a 33.6% increase from 2024—amounting to about $712 per household or $292 per person.
This puts the commonwealth seventh in the nation for total scam losses.
Nationally, online scams cost Americans about $148.2 billion last year. The FBI received more than 1 million complaints totaling $20.9 billion in losses. Annual losses have tripled since 2021.
Meta is the main source of scams
According to the Better Business Bureau, most scams reported originate on social media, with platforms that offer direct messaging functions used in 81% of US scam attempts.
Among the most frequently used platforms for these scams were Meta services, specifically Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that 58% of adults receive a suspected scam attempt daily.
According to Reuters, about $16 billion, or 10% of Meta’s 2024 revenue, came from ads promoting scams and banned goods.
Most costly scams
According to the report, the most costly scams were:
- Investment scams: $61.4 billion in losses
- Email-targeting scams: $21.6 billion
- Tech support scams: $15.1 billion
- Romance scams: $6.5 billion
- Government impersonation scams: $5.6 billion
