(The Center Square) – Coloradans filed almost 45,000 fraud reports last year with the Federal Trade Commission, reflecting an estimated loss of $210.7 million.
That’s up from 41,500 reports and $170 million lost in 2023, according to FTC data.
Nationally, consumers lost $12.5 billion to fraud last year, with 38% of people filing fraud reports saying they lost money.
FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Christopher Mufarrige said last month that “scammers’ tactics are constantly evolving.”
“The FTC is monitoring those trends closely and working hard to protect the American people from fraud,” he added.
Colorado had over 73,200 total consumer reports, which includes other FTC consumer complaints in addition to fraud, and amounts to 1,260 reports per 100,000 people. That ranks as the 18th highest rate in the nation, according to FTC data.
Most of the state’s fraud reports involved imposter scams (15,028), followed by online shopping/negative reviews (6,535), internet services (2,492), health care (2,332) and privacy/data security/cyber threat (2,322).
The FTC recommends reporting fraud cases at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
“People who report to ReportFraud.ftc.gov about losing money to a scam receive next steps information on how to try to recover their money,” the commission said. “These reports are a vital part of the agency’s law enforcement mission and also help the FTC to warn consumers about fraud trends in the data.”
Coloradans can also report fraud to StopFraudColorado.gov, which is run by the state attorney general’s office.
The attorney general’s office said in March there were 1,205 reported imposter scams out of 24,473 total consumer complaints filed in 2024.
“In many cases, these scams relate directly to fraudulent telephone calls, emails, or text messages from scammers posing as a government official or employees from a reputable company, often seeking monetary payments through gift cards, wire transfers, and other money transfer services,” the attorney general’s office said.
