FTC Sounds Alarm as Imposter Scams Steal $3.5 Billion

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning consumers to beware of text messages that demand money for unpaid tolls as well as new online friends or love interests who suddenly ask for money.

These are two common imposter scams, a type of scam that has been the subject of the most fraud reports sent to the FTC for nine years in a row, the agency said in a Thursday (May 7) consumer alert.

In 2025, consumers sent the FTC more than 1 million reports about imposter scams and reported that they lost $3.5 billion to those sorts of scams.

Text messages about overdue tolls contributed to a 40% increase in reports of government imposter scams.

“These bogus messages might spoof real toll collection programs (like EZ-Pass, SunPass, FasTrak and TxTag) to seem more credible. And they threaten to charge you late fees or suspend your vehicle’s registration if you don’t pay right away,” the consumer alert said.

The FTC recommends that users who get these types of messages reach out to the state’s toll agency using a phone number or website they know is real — not the ones from the text.

Romance scams cost consumers $1.48 million in 2025, a figure that was 22% higher than the previous year.

“[Romance scammers] build a relationship over time, then one day, the conversation turns to money, and they offer to help you invest yours,” the consumer alert said. “But they’re not in it to help you. They’re in it to rip you off.”

The FTC recommends that consumers who find themselves in this situation refuse to send money to people they’ve never met in person.

An FTC official told a congressional committee in March that in 2025, consumers sent the agency 3 million fraud reports and reported $15.9 billion in losses. Those figures were up from 2.6 million fraud reports and $12 billion in losses in 2024.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Financial Scams and Consumer Trust” found that more than 8 in 10 reported scams involve impersonation; nearly two-thirds of victims send money within 24 hours; and younger, affluent and college-educated consumers face the highest scam exposure.