Scams in the United States: what to watch for and where to report them.
Start here for U.S.-focused scam information: common online scams, suspicious messages, payment scams, identity theft concerns, device and account risks, and the official places Americans can report fraud.
By ScamClarity Editorial Team
Reviewed by ScamClarity Safety Review
Published May 21, 2026 ยท Updated May 21, 2026
In the United States, the right first step depends on what the scam involved. A fake text, a Zelle payment, a stolen Social Security number, a romance request, a marketplace deposit, and a hacked account can point to different reporting options.
This page is a U.S.-specific overview. It explains common scam patterns Americans are reporting, where official reports usually go, what evidence to save, and which ScamClarity pages can help when you know more about what happened.
Common scams affecting U.S. consumers
Current 2026 official sources show a mixed scam landscape. FTC testimony in March 2026 reported 3 million consumer fraud reports for 2025 and $15.9 billion in reported losses. The same testimony identified imposter scams as the most frequently reported fraud and investment scams as the largest FTC loss category.
The FBI's April 2026 summary of the 2025 IC3 report said cyber-enabled crimes generated more than 1 million IC3 complaints and nearly $21 billion in reported losses. IC3 highlighted phishing and spoofing, extortion, investment schemes, cryptocurrency-related complaints, AI-related complaints, tech support, personal data breach, romance, and government impersonation as important U.S. patterns.
Phishing and fake login messages: emails, ads, social posts, QR codes, and fake account pages that try to capture passwords, codes, card numbers, or personal information.
Smishing and scam texts: delivery messages, toll texts, bank alerts, tax refund texts, job offers, package problems, and one-time-code pressure sent by SMS or messaging apps.
Tech support scams: fake security warnings, pop-ups, refund calls, remote-access sessions, and callers pretending to be from a well-known company.
Marketplace and non-delivery scams: fake sellers, fake buyers, deposits, shipping pressure, pending payment claims, overpayments, and fake payment screenshots.
Romance and confidence scams: online relationships that shift toward money, crypto, gift cards, travel costs, emergencies, secrecy, or account help.
Payment app scams: Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, bank transfer, and other payment methods used after pressure, impersonation, or a fake transaction story.
Identity theft and personal information exposure: Social Security numbers, tax information, driver's licenses, account credentials, school data, medical data, or credit information used or at risk.
Investment and crypto scams: fake platforms, social media investment groups, romance-investment overlaps, job or task scams, and promises of high returns.
Government impersonation: fake IRS, Social Security, law enforcement, toll agency, court, grant, benefits, or postal messages asking for payment or personal information.
Package and delivery scams: fake USPS or carrier texts and emails asking for a link click, redelivery fee, address correction, or card details.
AI-assisted impersonation: voice, video, image, or message claims that make a family emergency, executive request, romance profile, or government message feel more convincing.
Where to report scams in the U.S.
No single report fits every scam. The official place depends on whether the issue is consumer fraud, identity theft, internet-enabled crime, a payment dispute, platform abuse, a tax issue, a postal issue, or an immediate safety concern.
U.S. reporting options by situation
Use
When it usually fits
What to keep in mind
FTC ReportFraud.gov
Consumer fraud, scams, suspicious businesses, imposter scams, fake shopping, phishing attempts, and patterns that should be reported to the FTC.
A report helps investigators and consumer education work. It is not a private recovery service and does not guarantee money back.
IdentityTheft.gov
Your Social Security number, driver's license, account credentials, tax information, or other identity details were misused or may be used.
The FTC describes it as the federal one-stop resource for reporting identity theft and getting a recovery plan.
FBI IC3
Internet-enabled crime, online fraud, cyber-enabled incidents, account takeover, crypto or investment fraud, and larger online losses.
IC3 reports support investigative and intelligence work. Save transaction details and evidence before filing.
Bank, card issuer, credit union, payment app, or crypto exchange
Money moved, card or bank information was entered, a transfer was unauthorized, or a payment app was involved.
Contact the provider through the official app, website, statement, or card number. Ask what options apply to the account and transaction.
Platform or account provider
The scam happened on Facebook, a dating app, email, Apple, Google, Microsoft, USPS, a marketplace, or another service.
Report the profile, message, listing, email, or account inside the real platform so it can preserve and act on platform data.
Local law enforcement
Threats, blackmail, local theft, in-person danger, stolen property, or a bank/provider asking for a police report.
Bring saved evidence, payment records, and any official report numbers you already have.
Use more than one channel when more than one issue happened. For example, a Zelle marketplace scam may involve the bank, FTC, IC3, Facebook, and local police if local theft or threats were involved.
Start with what happened
If you are not sure what to read next, begin with the concrete event: the message, payment, information, platform, account, or device concern. The name of the scam can come later.
Choose the closest U.S. situation
Use the closest match. If money moved, identity information was exposed, or an account may be affected, start with that practical risk.
I received a suspicious email, link, or login page
Check closely
The main risk is usually what the page asked you to enter or approve: password, code, card number, personal information, file download, or app install.
Do not use the link to verify the message. Use the official site or app, save the message, and secure the account if you entered anything.
Check whether you typed a password, one-time code, card number, or Social Security number.
Look for new sign-in alerts, password reset emails, or recovery changes.
Do not: Do not call a number or use a login link from the suspicious message.
I received a scam text
Check closely
Text scams often impersonate banks, delivery services, toll agencies, tax agencies, employers, or account providers.
Do not reply or click. Save the text, use the real site or app to verify, and forward unwanted texts to 7726 when appropriate.
Look for payment pressure, a fake problem, a shortened link, or a request for personal information.
If you entered information, treat it as account, payment, or identity exposure.
Do not: Do not reply STOP, YES, or NO to an unexpected message unless you know the sender is legitimate.
I sent money or saw an unauthorized payment
Act quickly
Money movement changes the order of operations. The provider connected to the payment may have time-sensitive reporting steps.
Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, crypto exchange, or money transfer provider through an official channel and save transaction details.
Write down the amount, date, recipient, transaction ID, confirmation number, and account used.
Ask the provider what options apply without assuming recovery is likely.
Do not: Do not send more money to unlock, verify, reverse, or recover the first payment.
I shared personal information
Act quickly
The response depends on what was shared: Social Security number, tax information, driver's license, bank login, account password, address, or document image.
Use official identity-theft resources if the information can be misused, and secure any account tied to the information.
Check whether the information was entered on a fake form, shown during screen sharing, or sent in a message.
Save screenshots and note exactly what was shared.
Do not: Do not post full documents, account numbers, or identity details in public forums while asking for help.
I think my phone or account is affected
Check closely
A click is different from entering a password, sharing a code, installing an app, installing a profile, or giving remote access.
Check what changed, secure the account from the official app or site, and remove unknown apps, profiles, permissions, or remote-access tools.
Look for unfamiliar sign-ins, password resets, apps, profiles, permissions, or messages sent from your account.
If money or identity information was involved, handle that risk separately.
Do not: Do not assume every slow phone or spam text proves the device is compromised.
I am buying or selling online
Check closely
Marketplace scams usually turn on deposits, fake payments, pending payment screenshots, shipping pressure, verification codes, or moving off the original platform.
Check the real payment app or account, save the listing and messages, and do not ship or refund based only on a screenshot.
Look for business account upgrade claims, overpayment stories, courier requests, or pressure to pay before inspection.
Report the profile, listing, or messages inside the platform.
Do not: Do not send a verification code or pay a fee to receive a payment.
An online relationship shifted to money
Act quickly
Romance scams are trust-building scams. The risk becomes clearer when the person asks for money, crypto, gift cards, bank help, travel costs, documents, or secrecy.
Slow the conversation down, save chats and payment details, and ask someone you trust to look at the request pattern.
Look for refusal to meet normally, moving off-platform, emergencies, investment advice, and instructions to keep it secret.
If payment or identity information was shared, contact the relevant provider.
Do not: Do not keep sending money because a crisis keeps changing.
A fake support warning or caller took over the conversation
Urgent
Tech support scams often use fear, fake pop-ups, refund claims, remote access, and payment pressure.
Disconnect remote access, remove unknown support tools, secure exposed accounts, and contact banks or providers if financial accounts were visible.
Save the caller number, pop-up screenshot, remote-access app name, payment details, and what they asked you to open.
Review account activity from a trusted device.
Do not: Do not reconnect so the caller can prove they fixed the problem.
Saving evidence does not mean you should keep engaging with the person. It means keeping enough detail for an agency, bank, platform, provider, or police report to understand what happened.
U.S. scam evidence checklist
Save what applies before deleting messages, blocking accounts, or closing tabs.
Messages and screenshots
Texts, emails, direct messages, voicemails, pop-ups, social posts, fake websites, QR codes, and profile screenshots.
Contact and account details
Phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, handles, profile URLs, website URLs, app names, and company names used in the story.
Payment records
Transaction IDs, confirmation numbers, amounts, dates, recipient names, wallet addresses, gift card receipts, bank statements, and provider case numbers.
Identity or account exposure
What was shared or entered: Social Security number, driver's license, passport, tax information, bank login, account password, one-time code, address, or document image.
Timeline
When the first contact happened, when money moved, when information was shared, when an account alert arrived, and when you contacted any provider.
Official reports
Report numbers from FTC, IC3, IdentityTheft.gov, police, bank, payment provider, platform, carrier, IRS, SSA, USPIS, or another official channel.
Hide private details before sharing screenshots with a friend, family member, forum, or support person.
Seasonal and fast-moving U.S. scams
Some U.S. scam stories change with the calendar or news cycle. The details change, but the practical question is the same: did the message ask for money, personal information, a login, a code, a download, or a payment through a hard-to-reverse method?
Tax season: IRS and FTC sources in 2026 warned about tax refund texts, IRS impersonation by email or text, AI-enabled IRS impersonation calls, misleading social media tax advice, and identity theft tied to tax filing.
Toll and traffic texts: FTC 2026 alerts described bogus toll or traffic messages that spoof real programs and push people to use links from the text.
Package and delivery texts: USPIS warns that unsolicited USPS delivery texts with strange links are smishing, and says USPS tracking texts are not sent with links unless the customer initiated tracking.
Social media scams: FTC 2026 data showed major reported losses from scams that started on social media, including investment, shopping, and romance patterns.
Crypto and AI: FBI 2026 reporting tied some of the largest cyber-enabled losses to cryptocurrency and AI-related complaints, especially when combined with investment, impersonation, or account pressure.
Disasters, conflicts, and charity stories: FTC and agency alerts often warn that scammers adapt current events to ask for donations, fees, payments, or personal information.
What not to do
Do not send more money to unlock, verify, reverse, release, or recover a payment.
Do not use phone numbers, links, QR codes, or email addresses from a suspicious message to verify the claim.
Do not share one-time codes, passwords, backup codes, recovery keys, or account reset links.
Do not call back a fake support number shown in a pop-up, email, invoice, or text.
Do not pay a recovery service, hacker, investigator, or social media account that promises to get money back.
Do not assume FTC, IC3, a platform, a bank, or ScamClarity can guarantee recovery.
Do not post full private details publicly while asking for help.
Do not delete evidence before saving the messages, payment records, account alerts, and report numbers.
How ScamClarity organizes U.S. scam information
ScamClarity organizes scams by what happened: the type of scam, the platform involved, the payment method, the information exposed, and whether a phone, computer, browser, app, login, or account may be affected.
That matters because U.S. reporting and response are practical. A fake USPS text may start as smishing, become identity exposure if you entered your Social Security number, become a payment issue if you entered a card, and become an account issue if you shared a password or code.
Official sources
These sources support the U.S.-specific guidance in this article. They are listed by what they help verify, not as a general bibliography.
Official U.S. sources used for this guide
Use the official source that matches the scam, report, account, payment, or agency involved.
Current 2026 IRS warning on tax scams, IRS impersonation by email and text, AI-enabled IRS impersonation calls, tax identity theft, and social media tax advice.
Official U.S. government tool for identifying where to report different scam situations.
FAQ
Where do I report a scam in the United States?
For consumer fraud, use FTC ReportFraud.gov. For identity theft, use IdentityTheft.gov. For internet-enabled crime, use FBI IC3. If money moved, contact the bank, card issuer, credit union, payment app, crypto exchange, or money transfer provider connected to the transaction.
Should I report to the FTC or FBI IC3?
Use FTC ReportFraud for consumer fraud and scam patterns. Use IC3 when the incident was internet-enabled or cyber-enabled, especially if there was online payment loss, account takeover, crypto, business email compromise, extortion, or organized online fraud. Many serious online scams can justify both.
When should I use IdentityTheft.gov?
Use IdentityTheft.gov when your personal information was misused or exposed in a way that could let someone open accounts, file taxes, access benefits, use your identity, or impersonate you.
Should I contact my bank first?
If money moved, card or bank details were entered, a transfer was unauthorized, or a payment app was used, contact the financial provider immediately through the official app, website, statement, or card number.
What if I only received a suspicious message but did not lose money?
Do not click links or reply. Save the message, report it through the message app or provider if available, forward unwanted texts to 7726 when appropriate, and report the attempt to FTC ReportFraud if it fits a scam or fraud pattern.
What if the scam involved Zelle or another payment app?
Contact the bank, credit union, payment app, or provider connected to the transaction. Save the transaction ID, confirmation number, amount, recipient, date, and messages. Do not send more money to reverse or unlock the payment.
What should I save before reporting?
Save messages, screenshots, sender details, profile URLs, transaction IDs, receipts, wallet addresses, account alerts, dates, amounts, what you clicked or entered, and any case numbers from agencies or providers.
Are U.S. scams different from scams in other countries?
Many scam patterns are global, but U.S. reporting options, payment providers, identity-theft steps, tax issues, postal scams, and agency impersonation details are specific. Use U.S. official sites for U.S. incidents.