More than $100 million in fraud losses statewide

The Federal Trade Commission last year received more than 23,000 fraud reports from consumers in Nevada in 2023, according to newly released data. For Washoe County, that amounted to more than 5,100 fraud complaints last year filed with the federal government.

Imposter scams lead the pack as the most popular type of fraud, FTC data show. That was followed by online shopping and negative reviews, credit and bank fraud, prizes, sweepstakes and lottery scams. Phone scams and business and jobs scams were also notable. ID theft is also a common problem, with more than 200 complaints filed last year.

“Nevada consumers reported losing a total of $113,635,736 to fraud, with a median loss of $649,” a government press release noted. “Across all types of reports, the FTC received a total of 59,202 reports from consumers in Nevada in 2023.”

The top categories of reports received from consumers across the state were identity theft, followed by credit bureaus, information furnishers and report users, imposter scams and online scams.

Clark County had the greatest number of fraud complaints in the state. 

Nationally, consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, up from $8.8 billion in 2022. Consumers reported losing more money to investment scams—more than $4.6 billion—than any other category in 2023. The second highest reported loss amount came from imposter scams, with losses of $2.7 billion reported.

The FTC uses the reports it receives as the starting point for law enforcement investigations, and the agency also shares these reports with about 2,800 law enforcement personnel. While the FTC does not intervene in individual complaints, Sentinel reports are a vital part of the agency’s law enforcement mission.

Source: FTC