Facebook is now the single most dangerous place to encounter a scammer online. According to a new Federal Trade Commission report, Americans lost more money to scams originating on Facebook in 2025 than to all text and email scams combined.
The numbers are stark. Of the $2.1 billion lost to social media scams last year, Facebook accounted for $794 million. WhatsApp came in second at $425 million, Instagram third at $234 million. Phone scams and email scams – the contact methods most people still think of as the main threat – didn't come close.
The FTC warns that Facebook's advertising tools are a big part of the problem. Scammers buy ads the same way legitimate businesses do, targeting users by age, interests, and shopping habits. Others hack into real accounts to impersonate people you already trust, or build fake storefronts that mimic well-known brands offering steep discounts. By the time you realize the company doesn't exist, your money is already gone.
This affects people across all age groups. The FTC found social media was the most costly fraud contact method for every age group under 80. Even among people in their 60s and 70s – a demographic often assumed to stick to phone calls – social media ranked as the top contact method for scam losses.
If you see an offer on Facebook that looks too good to be true, search the company name plus the word "scam" or "complaint" before you click anything. Tighten your privacy settings, so scammers have less personal information to work with when targeting you. And read our article on how to spot and stop Facebook account cloning, so you won't be taken in by fake profiles.
Read next: How to hide your Friends list on Facebook – and why you should
[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious via ChatGpt]
