Military-connected consumers reported more fraud cases to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2024 than the previous year, as well as a significant hike in fraud losses – a total of $584 million, up from $477 million in 2023.

Retirees and veterans reported $419 million in losses in 2024, according to the FTC’s 2024 data book, released last month. That’s up from $350 million in 2023. The other categories of “military consumers” as identified by the FTC also saw increases:

• Active duty: $71 million in losses, up from $52 million in 2023
• Guard and Reserve members: $40 million in losses, up from $39 million
• Spouses and/or dependents of active duty servicemembers: $54 million in losses, up from $36 million

While veterans and retirees lost the most overall, active duty members saw the larges loss per report, with an average of $920 lost in about 7,300 cases.

“We know that this is sort of the tip of the iceberg,” Terri Miller, a consumer education specialist with the FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education, said during a recent MOAA webinar on preventing fraud and identity theft. “Everyone who is affected by a scam doesn’t always report it. So this is just what we know … let’s assume that this number is higher.”

[MOAA WEBINAR ARCHIVE: Protect Yourself From Identity Theft and Fraud (Premium/Life Member Exclusive)]

Behind the Numbers

Impostor scams remained the most-reported threat to military consumers last year, with nearly $200 million lost in more than 44,000 reported incidents. And while only 4,750 investment-related scams were reported to the FTC, they cost victims more than $208 million – up from $147 million in 2023.

Other costly scam types included business and job-related fraud ($38.4 million), sweepstakes fraud ($29.2 million), online shopping scams ($22.5 million), and travel and timeshare fraud ($18.6 million). 

Along with nearly 100,000 fraud cases, military consumers reported more than 38,000 instances of identity theft, with more than 11,000 scammers attempting to open new credit card accounts and more than 5,100 attempting to secure a business or personal loan.

Stopping Fraud

Miller offered some basics to avoid identity theft, impostors, and other scams during her webinar presentation:

• Take Your Time: “You don’t have to respond to anything right away. … Honest organizations are always going to give you time to make a decision.”
  
  
• Pay Smart: “Listen to how they tell you to pay. Often, scammers will use gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, payment apps, things like that because it’s easy for you to send money but very, very hard for you to get your money back.”
  
  
• Check Your Credit: “One of the best ways to detect identity theft early is to check your credit reports regularly. AnnualCreditReport.com, that’s the best place to check it because you can check all three credit bureaus. … Make it part of your financial plan to check your credit regularly, especially when you’re on the move.”

MOAA Can Help Stop Scams

MOAA offers a range of resources to help you protect your personal data (and your bank account) from scammers of all types:

• From our financial and benefits expert: Protect Yourself From These 5 Common Fraud Schemes
• Three-part series: Don’t Be Scammed
• More recorded webinars (available to Premium and Life members): An Overview of Scams and Frauds | Outsmart the Scammers: How to Spot and Avoid Financial Fraud | Protecting Yourself From Cybercrime and Scams