New report says Arizona loses $2.8B a year to online scams

A new report shows that Arizona is in the top 10 when it comes to online scams. The financial impact of that appears to be higher than previously thought.

The Consumer Federation of America estimates that Arizona loses about $2.8 billion a year to online scams. That figure is much higher than the numbers provided by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, which estimated the 2024 losses at more than $392 million.

Richie Taylor is a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office. He says these online scams come in many different forms.

“We see a large number of scams related to the internet, including fake online retailers, phishing emails and texts, and even fraudulent websites designed to look real, but are fronts to steal money or other personal information,” he said.

Taylor says it‘s difficult to determine the actual extent of the fraud because of underreporting.

“I will say that a lot of the numbers that we get reported about — reported related to scams — are probably not the true picture because a lot of scams simply go unreported,” he said.

What he does know is that Arizona’s senior population is heavily targeted by scam artists.

Taylor says it’s important to be skeptical if someone is trying to solicit money or personal information.