Reports of scam losses topped $1 billion in North Carolina over five years

Scam-related losses reported by North Carolina consumers topped $1 billion over five years, according to an analysis of Federal Trade Commission data provided to Enlace Latino NC by The Associated Press.

The amount of money reported as lost increased every year from 2021 through 2025. It rose from about $95 million in 2021 to just over $342 million in 2025.

The number of reports did not grow at the same pace. There were 71,000 scam reports in 2021 and 74,000 in 2025, but the number dipped in the intervening years.

Those numbers show only part of the problem.

The data reflect what consumers reported both directly to the FTC as well as other scam-tracking institutions that share data with the federal agency. A report does not mean authorities verified that a scam occurred, and many people who experience a scam never file one.

AP created an interactive tool that allows readers to explore scam reports in North Carolina counties. Student journalists at Indiana University’s Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism helped AP analyze the data.

What doesn’t appear in the reports

One category in particular illustrates the limits of what these data can tell us.

In Durham County, where about 350,000 people live, just seven reports were classified as immigration services scams during the five years. Despite the small number, they were enough to give Durham the highest per-capita rate in North Carolina for that category.

The FTC has been aware for years of concerns involving immigration services scams in North Carolina. In 2014, the FTC and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services held an event in Durham focused on consumer protection in immigrant communities that addressed, among other issues, immigration services and notario scams.

The low number of reports raises a question: How many of the scams affecting immigrant communities are not reported?

These data cannot answer that question.

However, the FTC has previously acknowledged that it receives reports from Latino communities at a lower rate than from the general population and has identified potential barriers to reporting, including not knowing where to report, distrust of government and concerns related to immigration status.

‘Anyone can fall for a scam’

For Daniel Simons, understanding why people can be deceived requires moving away from the assumption that scams work simply because someone was careless.

Simons, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and co-author of Nobody’s Fool, studies attention, perception, memory and thinking.

“Anyone can fall for a scam,” he said.

A scam works because it reaches the right person at the right moment, Simons explained.

Scammers can construct a story around something a person wants, fears or expects. They can also use personal information to make the story more convincing and create urgency that gives someone less time to question what is happening.

The details can also change depending on whom scammers are trying to deceive.

Simons pointed to scams targeting people of Chinese origin in which someone impersonates a Chinese government authority. The example shows how a scammer can draw on institutions, concerns or circumstances that are familiar to the person being targeted.

That principle can be relevant to immigrant communities.

Language, unfamiliarity with how certain institutions operate in the United States or concerns related to immigration can be among the circumstances a scammer attempts to exploit.

That does not mean immigrants are easier to deceive. It means, Simons explained, that scammers look for what could make a story appear credible to a particular person.

Different reports across the state

The types of scams that stand out in the data also vary depending on location.

Mecklenburg County had the highest per-capita rate in the state in eight of 47 sub-categories of scams the FTC tracks, including those related to online shopping, diet products and debt counseling.

In online shopping alone, Mecklenburg recorded nearly 7,000 reports during five years.

In coastal Brunswick County, the sub-categories with the state’s highest rates were different. Brunswick led in six types of scams, including those targeting romance, tech support, and timeshares and vacations.

The data do not establish why certain types of reports have higher rates in some counties than in others.

Slowing down before acting

One warning sign comes when someone asks for money or private information while also pressuring a person to act immediately, scam expert Simons explained.

At that point, stopping the interaction before making a decision and consulting someone who is not involved can help.

That person, Simons said, has not been subjected to the same pressure or story the scammer created.

The North Carolina Department of Justice also recommends verifying that a website or business is legitimate before providing money or private information.

People who believe they may have been victims of a scam can file a complaint with the department.

The office does not have criminal jurisdiction, but works with law enforcement agencies and other partners to try to prevent scams and assist authorities in their efforts, according to Ben Conroy, press secretary for Attorney General Jeff Jackson.

The department also recommends submitting reports to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission.

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This story is supported by the AP Fund for Journalism and was produced in collaboration with The Associated Press’ Local Investigative Reporting Program, which is part of AP’s Local News Success initiative.