Report: How Financial Scams Are Eroding Consumer Confidence and Financial Health

Download the Study The Impact of Financial Scams on Consumers’ Finances and Banking Habits

Financial scams have never been more prevalent, but quality data on the number of victims and scale of their losses remains limited. For consumer-facing financial institutions (FIs), understanding the true scale of these scams is critical to protecting their customers.

PYMNTS Intelligence’s research finds that 3 in 10 U.S. consumers or their households have lost money to a financial scam in the last five years. This means scams have impacted roughly 77 million individuals. The financial implications are often severe: Most victims lose more than $500. In fact, many suffer thousands of dollars in financial damage.

Banks and other FIs serve as the frontline defenders and advocates for victims of financial scams. We find that consumers are much more likely to recover funds if they have reported the losses to their FI. That said, more than half of scam victims consider switching FIs after their traumatic experience, and 30% actually do so.

These are some of the findings explored in “The Impact of Financial Scams on Consumers’ Finances and Banking Habits,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Featurespace collaboration. This report is based on a survey of 10,103 consumers conducted from July 26 to Aug. 19. The report examines the impact of scams on consumers, how scams affect their views of FIs and banking, and the critical role FIs play in protecting their customers.

Inside “The Impact of Financial Scams on Consumers’ Finances and Banking Habits”:

Why the true scale of consumer fraud is widely underestimated

Which demographic groups scams most frequently impacted

The average losses suffered by victims of different types of scams

What institutions consumers tend to turn to after becoming the victim of scams

The shares of victims that recover funds after reporting losses

Why FIs must adjust their strategies to focus on scam prevention

This report includes crucial information for consumer-facing banks and other FIs. Download the report to learn about the true impact of financial scams on consumers and how FIs need to respond.