The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has estimated that Americans are losing at least $119 billion annually to scams, according to the group. This estimate was based on a study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics which found that the government hears of about 14% of scams. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center has reported $16.6 billion in reported losses in 2024, surpassing the previous record of $12.5 billion in 2023. The most common scams are investment scams, which often involve individuals pretending to be from wrong numbers and spending large sums on bogus cryptocurrency investments. Ben Winters, the CFA's director of AI and privacy, said the study shows a staggering amount of money is lost to scammers. One major policy recommendation is to regulate the data broker industry.