The latest reported payment and transfer scam statistics from the FTC, FBI IC3, UK Finance and Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre — with sources — and what they mean for anyone who buys, sells or gets paid online.

Payment and transfer fraud is now one of the largest categories of consumer crime in the English-speaking world. This page pulls together the most recent reported figures from the official sources — the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), UK Finance and Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre — and explains what they mean if you buy, sell, or get paid online. Every figure below is attributed and linked; these are the agencies’ numbers, not ours.

Key numbers at a glance

US: Consumers reported losing $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024 — a 25% jump on the prior year (FTC). Reported losses rose again in 2025, with imposter scams alone reaching $3.5 billion, the #1 fraud category (FTC).
US: The FBI’s IC3 logged a record $16.6 billion in internet-crime losses in 2024, up 33% year on year (FBI IC3).
UK: Over £1.1 billion was stolen through fraud in 2024, including £450.7 million in authorised push payment (bank-transfer) fraud (UK Finance).
UK: Purchase scams — paying for goods or services that never arrive — are the most common type of bank-transfer fraud, and 70% of these cases start online (UK Finance).
Australia: Combined reported scam losses were $2.03 billion in 2024, with payment redirection among the top loss-making scam types (ACCC / National Anti-Scam Centre).

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United States

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

In its most recent full-year data, the FTC reported that consumers lost $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024 — a 25% increase over 2023. Imposter scams remained the most-reported fraud category, and in 2025 reported losses to imposter scams reached $3.5 billion. The FTC also notes that, by amount lost, bank transfers and cryptocurrency are the payment methods people lose the most money through — both are fast and effectively irreversible once sent.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

The FBI’s IC3 recorded a record $16.6 billion in reported losses across all internet crime in 2024, a 33% rise on 2023. Cryptocurrency-related fraud accounted for more than $9.3 billion of that (up 66%), and business email compromise (BEC) — where criminals redirect a legitimate payment — for roughly $2.8 billion.

United Kingdom

UK Finance

UK Finance reported that more than £1.1 billion was stolen through fraud in 2024. Authorised push payment (APP) fraud — where a victim is tricked into sending a bank transfer themselves — accounted for £450.7 million. Crucially for anyone buying or selling online, purchase scams (paying in advance for goods that never arrive) are the single most common type of APP fraud, and 70% of APP fraud cases began online. Since October 2024, UK banks operate under mandatory reimbursement rules for many APP scam victims — but prevention still beats trying to claw money back.

Australia

ACCC / National Anti-Scam Centre

Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre reported combined scam losses of $2.03 billion in 2024 — down about 26% on 2023, which the ACCC attributes partly to better detection and coordination. Payment redirection scams remained among the top scam types by loss, alongside investment and phishing.

What the data means if you buy, sell or get paid online

Three themes run through every one of these reports:

The money moves through payments you authorise yourself. Bank transfers, APP payments and payment apps dominate the losses because, once you send, the money is usually gone. A “payment sent” screenshot from a buyer is not proof anything reached you.
Buying and selling is a front line. Purchase scams are the most common bank-transfer fraud in the UK, and payment redirection is a top loss type in Australia. If you sell on a marketplace, a forged payment confirmation is the exact tactic being used against you.
It starts online. 70% of UK APP fraud begins online — in a message, a listing, or a DM — which is where a quick verification habit pays off most.

The practical defence is boringly effective: confirm money has actually arrived in your own account before you ship, refund, or release anything, and treat any screenshot, email or “confirmation” as a claim to be checked, not proof. Our full guide covers exactly how to do that: how to spot and verify a fake payment screenshot. For specific platforms, see the guides for Venmo, Cash App, Zelle and PayPal.

Sources

Figures are as reported by each agency for the period stated. Where a full 2025 report was not yet published, the most recent full-year data (2024) is used.

Federal Trade Commission — Consumer Sentinel / fraud data (2024 and 2025 releases): ftc.gov
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — 2024 Internet Crime Report: ic3.gov
UK Finance — Annual Fraud Report 2025 (2024 data): ukfinance.org.uk
ACCC / National Anti-Scam Centre — Targeting Scams 2024: scamwatch.gov.au

This page aggregates publicly reported figures for education. A Square Solutions is not affiliated with the FTC, FBI, UK Finance or the ACCC. Always check the source for the latest numbers.

Selling to someone you don’t know? Verifying the payment is half the check — verify the business too. See whether a business is independently verified with TrustSeal.