Scam Texts Are Fewer Now — and Stealing Five Times More
Reports went down. Losses hit a record $470 million. The reason is a single move, and one habit beats every version of it.
In 2024, Americans reported losing $470 million to scams that started with a text message. That is more than five times the amount reported in 2020. And the number of complaints went the opposite direction: it fell. Fewer people are reporting these texts, and the people who do get caught are losing more. The median loss reached $1,000.
That combination tells you something. The scams got sharper. Most of the money now moves through a small set of texts that all do the same job: they pose as someone you were already expecting to hear from. It might be a delivery service, a toll agency, or your bank’s fraud line — something already plausible in your week. When a message fits what’s on your mind, you read it as routine instead of suspicious.
The FTC found that five scams accounted for about half of all text fraud reported last year. They look different on the surface and run on the same engine underneath:
- Fake package delivery. The single most reported text scam of the year. A message claiming to be the Postal Service says there’s a problem with your delivery and asks for a small “redelivery fee.” The Postal Service does not send those texts. The payment screen exists to capture your card number, sometimes your Social Security number.
- Unpaid toll alerts. A text from “SunPass,” “FasTrak,” or a vague “toll services” says you owe a few dollars and must pay now to avoid a fine. The small balance is bait. The link harvests card and identity details.
- Fake fraud alerts. A warning about a suspicious charge asks you to confirm whether it was you. Reply “no” and you’re handed to a “fraud agent” who calmly walks you into moving your money somewhere “safe.”
- Job and task offers. A friendly note about easy online work. The early tasks are real and even pay a little. Then they ask you to deposit your own money to unlock bigger earnings that never come.
- Wrong-number messages. A stranger texts as if they reached you by mistake, stays warm and chatty, and weeks later steers the conversation toward an investment.
Every one of them shares a single mechanism: the text invents a small, time-sensitive reason to act right now. A late fee. A fine. A charge you need to confirm. The urgency is the product. It exists to move you before you think.
That is also why careful people get caught. The newer scripts are built for people who would never wire cash to a stranger. Instead of asking for money up front, they ask you to verify, to confirm, to protect yourself — using a link they helpfully provide. Your caution becomes the hook.
One habit defeats all five, and it doesn’t depend on spotting the fake. Never act on the channel that contacted you. If a text says your package is held, open the carrier’s own app or type its address yourself and check there. If it claims a toll is due, log into your toll account directly. If your bank seems to be warning you about fraud, hang up and dial the number printed on your card. The scam only works while you stay inside the message it sent you. Step outside it and the whole thing falls apart.
As for the text itself: don’t reply and don’t tap the link. Forward it to 7726 (the keypad spelling of SPAM), which routes it to your carrier to help block the sender. You can report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and package-delivery fakes to the Postal Inspection Service at spam@uspis.gov. Then delete it.
The dollar figure keeps climbing because the texts keep working, one rushed tap at a time. The defense isn’t a sharper eye for fakes. It’s a slower hand. The message wants you to answer where it found you. The answer is to look somewhere it can’t follow.