Video game asset marketplace Chicks Gold’s analysis of FTC fraud reports made in Q1 and Q2 2025 shows that scammers have stolen over four million dollars in six months through social networking scams.
Social networking scams see fraudsters use social media platforms to steal money or personal information via DMs containing phishing links, fake profiles that ask for money while posing as a friend, or fake giveaways and competitions.
Recently, scammers on Discord promoted a fake online gaming site that urged crypto users to deposit $100 to claim a non-existent $2,500 bonus. Over the past month, TikTok users have also been warned about fraudulent shop domains that mimic the in-app e-commerce platform to exploit fake sales.
Consumers across the U.S. made 5,975 reports of social networking fraud between January and June this year, resulting in a total loss of $4,162,198. This works out to a national average per-report loss of $696.
In Nevada, 137 reports were made over the six-month period, resulting in a total loss of $3,004. This works out to a per-report loss of $22, which is 97% below the national average ($696 per report).
Al Alof, CEO of Chicks Gold provided his insight on the findings:
“Despite increased reporting of social networking scams and numerous official warnings from the affected platforms themselves, it’s clear that many consumers are still being duped by fraudsters and are losing tens of thousands of dollars each time.
“When browsing platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Reddit, users let their guard down as scrolling is a relaxing activity that many of us use to unwind. Scammers look to take advantage of this downtime and exploit users, especially those who are unaware of the common tactics used to steal personal information and funds.
“It’s essential that just because we’re taking part in an activity to switch off, we don’t ignore the warning signs of a scam. These include DMs or statuses that promote ‘too good to be true’ offers that apply additional pressure by asking you to ‘reply now or lose out’, or messages that start with generic greetings like ‘dear user’, as this suggests they’re being pushed out to multiple unsuspecting and random recipients.
“Also be wary of unverified accounts that use unlikely celebrities to promote their product, as it’s now easier than ever for scammers to copy celeb likenesses through AI and pretend they’ve backed a brand. Be especially cautious of any profiles that are acting too friendly; if someone you barely know is being overly familiar or asking for money out of the blue, it’s almost definitely a scam account.”
The ten most affected states
Some states have been more affected by others, with Wyoming seeing a per-report loss that’s 2,232% above the national average. In the state, 13 reports of social networking scams were made in the first half of this year, resulting in a total loss of $210,986, or a per-report loss of $16,230.
The second most-affected state is Maine, with a per-report loss of $9,682, which is 1,291% higher than the average. Residents in the state made 31 social networking scam reports between January and June this year, with a total of $300,137 stolen.
Massachusetts is third, with scammers stealing a total of $673,400 through social networking scams this year so far. Residents made 116 reports, working out to a per-report loss of $5,805 (734% above the national average of $696).
Fourth is Florida, with an average of $1,836 stolen per social networking fraud report. Across the 373 reports made in the state, the total sum lost was $684,909.
Rounding out the five most-affected states is Wisconsin, with a total of $84,754 stolen through social networking scams. 59 reports were made over the six-month period, resulting in a per-report loss of $1,437, which is 106% above the average.
The ten states with the highest loss per social networking fraud report
Across the top ten states that saw the largest per-report loss in the first half of this year, the total sum stolen exceeded $2.9 million across 1,491 reports.
At the other end of the scale, the least-affected states are Rhode Island and North Dakota, with residents reporting no financial loss through social networking scams. This is despite 14 reports of this scam type being made across Q1 and Q2 in Rhode Island, and eight being made in North Dakota.
Post courtesy https://chicksgold.com/.
Methodology: The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network was analyzed under the ‘State Subcategories’ filter to display reports and losses over Q1 and Q2 2025. Data for the ‘Social Networking Services’ subcategory was pulled and analyzed to determine the average loss per-report.
Source: https://public.tableau.com/
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