Scams in Pennsylvania: 2025–2026 Fraud Statistics & Report
According to the FBI’s latest IC3 filing, Pennsylvania residents lost $537,787,231 to internet scams in 2025 — a 34.4% jump from the prior year. That puts Pennsylvania at #7 nationally for total losses and #34 when you adjust for population.
Published July 2026 · Data from FBI IC3 & FTC Consumer Sentinel · By Social Catfish Research
1. Pennsylvania at a Glance
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Scam Losses (2025) | $537,787,231 |
| Total Scam Losses (2024) | $400,082,312 |
| Year-Over-Year Change | +34.4% |
| National Rank (Total Losses) | #7 of 51 |
| National Rank (Per Capita) | #34 of 51 |
| Per Capita Losses (2025) | $41 per 100K residents |
| Population (2024 est.) | 13.1M |
| Share of U.S. Total | 2.8% |
2. Year-Over-Year Trends
In 2024, Pennsylvania residents reported $400,082,312 in losses to the FBI’s IC3. A year later that number moved to $537,787,231 — a 34.4% climb that tracks above the national trend.
🚨 Pennsylvania losses growing faster than the national average
For context, the national tab came to $18.87B last year, up 25.8% from 2024.Pennsylvania’s slice: 2.8% of every dollar reported stolen.
Adjusting for population, Pennsylvania sits at #34. That works out to $41 lost for every 100,000 residents in 2025 — up from $31 the year before.
3. How Pennsylvania Compares
To put Pennsylvania’s position in context, here are the states closest to it in the FBI’s loss rankings:
| Rank | State | 2025 Losses | 2024 Losses | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | New Jersey | $660,411,901 | $434,856,424 | +51.9% |
| 6 | Arizona | $630,700,609 | $392,441,717 | +60.7% |
| 7 | Pennsylvania ← | $537,787,231 | $400,082,312 | +34.4% |
| 8 | Illinois | $535,255,201 | $479,054,271 | +11.7% |
| 9 | Georgia | $534,581,965 | $420,454,472 | +27.1% |
View all 50 states + DC ranked →
4. Pennsylvania Metro Areas in the FTC Top 50
The FTC’s Consumer Sentinel data breaks fraud reports down by metro area. One Pennsylvania metro area landed in the national top 50 for per-capita fraud complaints:
| National Rank | Metro Area |
|---|---|
| #26 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE |
5. Most Dangerous Scams Affecting Pennsylvania
The FBI doesn’t publish scam-type breakdowns at the state level, but the national data offers a strong proxy for what Pennsylvania residents are up against. Here are the ten costliest categories in 2025:
#1Investment Fraud (incl. Pig Butchering)
Fraudulent crypto and forex platforms — often preceded by weeks of friendly texting or dating-app conversation — where victims watch fabricated returns pile up before the scammer vanishes with their money.
#2Business Email Compromise (BEC)
A spoofed email from the CEO or a trusted vendor lands in an employee's inbox requesting an urgent wire transfer. By the time anyone notices, the money's in an overseas account.
#3Tech / Customer Support Scams
A pop-up freezes your screen. A fake Microsoft or Apple rep calls. Older adults sometimes get talked into converting savings to gold bars and handing them to a courier who shows up at the front door.
#4Personal Data Breach
When hackers or insiders expose sensitive records — Social Security numbers, medical data, financial accounts — the downstream identity theft can linger for years.
#5Confidence / Romance Scams
Weeks of emotional bonding with someone who isn't real, followed by an invented emergency that requires cash. AI-generated photos and deepfake video calls make these harder to spot than ever.
#6Government Impersonation
'This is the IRS. There's a warrant for your arrest.' Robocalls and spoofed caller IDs make the threat feel genuine — and victims pay before thinking twice.
#7Non-Payment / Non-Delivery
#8Data Breach (Corporate)
#9Employment / Job Scams
Fake remote-work listings, bogus recruiters, and 'task scams' that pay small amounts for simple online tasks before asking victims to invest larger sums into platforms that don't exist.
#10Credit Card / Check Fraud
Stolen card numbers, counterfeit checks, and card-not-present fraud that drains accounts before alerts even fire.
See all 25 scam types with full 3-year data →
6. How Pennsylvania Residents Can Protect Themselves
$537.8M didn’t disappear into thin air — it was taken from real Pennsylvania families. A few habits can cut your risk dramatically:
Verify Before You Trust
Run a reverse image search on profile photos. Tools like Social Catfish let you check a photo, phone number, or email against public records in seconds — before you send a dime.
Never Send Money to Strangers
No real company or government agency will ever demand payment in gift cards, crypto, or wire transfers. Full stop. If someone asks for those, it's a scam.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
It takes 30 seconds to turn on 2FA for your email, bank, and social accounts. That one step blocks most account-takeover attempts cold.
Verify Independently
Got a call claiming to be your bank or the IRS? Hang up. Find the official number yourself and call back. Scammers spoof caller ID — the number on your screen means nothing.
Slow Down High-Pressure Situations
The urgency is the tell. 'Act now or lose everything' is a psychological lever, not a fact. Any legitimate request can survive a 24-hour pause.
Talk to Vulnerable Family Members
Seniors lost $7.75 billion last year — more than any other age group. If you have older family members in Pennsylvania, a candid conversation about scam tactics could save them thousands.
7. How to Report a Scam in Pennsylvania
Been scammed — or suspect someone you know in Pennsylvania has? Filing a report matters, even if you think it’s too late. Every complaint helps law enforcement spot patterns and, in some cases, claw money back:
- FBI IC3: ic3.gov — File a complaint for any internet-enabled crime
- FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov — Report fraud, scams, and bad business practices
- Pennsylvania Attorney General: Contact your state AG’s consumer protection division
- Local Police: File a police report, especially for in-person or local scams
- ScamComplaints.org: File a report here to warn others and build your case
Think You’re Being Scammed?
Verify anyone’s identity instantly. Social Catfish has helped millions of people uncover scammers before losing money.
Run a Free Search →8. Frequently Asked Questions About Scams in Pennsylvania
How much money did Pennsylvania lose to scams in 2025?
Pennsylvania residents reported $537,787,231 in losses to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025. That's a 34.4% increase from $400,082,312 in 2024. Pennsylvania ranks #7 nationally for total scam losses.
What are the most common scams in Pennsylvania?
While the FBI doesn't publish scam-type data at the state level, the biggest threats nationally — and almost certainly in Pennsylvania — are investment fraud ($8.65B), business email compromise ($3.05B), tech support scams ($2.13B), and romance scams ($929M). Phishing is the most common by volume with over 191,000 complaints.
How do I report a scam in Pennsylvania?
File a complaint with the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov for internet-related fraud. You can also report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, contact the Pennsylvania Attorney General's consumer protection office, file a local police report, or submit a report at ScamComplaints.org.
How does Pennsylvania compare to other states for scam losses?
Pennsylvania ranks #7 out of 51 (all states plus D.C.) for total reported scam losses and #34 on a per-capita basis. Pennsylvania accounts for 2.8% of the $20.8 billion in national losses.
Are scams getting worse in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Reported scam losses in Pennsylvania increased 34.4% from 2024 to 2025. Nationally, losses are up 25.8% year over year and have grown 67% in just two years.
📊 Methodology
Dollar-loss figures by state come from the FBI IC3’s 2024 and 2025 annual reports. We calculated per-capita numbers using the Census Bureau’s 2024 population estimates. Metro rankings draw on FTC Consumer Sentinel complaint data. Scam-type breakdowns reflect IC3 crime-type categories and are national, not state-specific. Keep in mind that the FBI itself estimates only 2–6% of victims ever file complaints — so Pennsylvania’s real losses could realistically run 17 to 50 times what appears here.