The FTC’s Loudest Warning Yet

Every year, Americans hope the numbers will go down. Every year, they go up. In May 2026, the Federal Trade Commission issued its latest consumer alert on imposter scams — and the headline was grim: imposter scams are the number one fraud complaint for the ninth consecutive year, with more than 1 million reports filed and $3.5 billion in reported losses in 2025 alone. That’s a nearly 20% increase over the prior year.

“Imposter” is a broad category. It covers anyone who pretends to be someone else — a government agency, a tech company, a romantic partner, a recruiter — to steal your money or personal information. What makes 2025–2026 stand out is not just the scale but the sophistication. Scammers are refining old playbooks and inventing new ones, and the FTC wants consumers to know exactly what they are.

The Three New Tactics the FTC Flagged

1. Toll Text Scams: Your State Toll Program Is Being Faked

Government imposter scam reports jumped 40% in 2025, and the FTC says a major driver is fake toll messages. You receive a text claiming you owe an overdue balance on your toll account — typically a modest amount like $3.85 or $12.00 — with a link to “pay now or face late fees.” The message may spoof real program names: EZ-Pass, SunPass, FasTrak, TxTag, and others, depending on your state.

The goal is twofold: get you to pay the fake fine, and — more importantly — harvest your credit card number and billing address when you click the link.

What makes this effective is urgency and specificity. Scammers know people worry about registration suspensions. The texts look official, arrive on your phone (which feels personal), and name a real program you may actually use. The FTC has received tens of thousands of these complaints in just the past several months.

What to do: If you receive an unsolicited toll text, do not click the link. Go directly to your state’s official toll website by typing the address yourself, or call the number on the back of your toll transponder account card.

2. Fake Job Offer Texts: Your Next Recruiter Might Be a Criminal

A newer scam making waves in early 2026 starts with a text from an “unknown recruiter” at a well-known company — often in tech, healthcare, or logistics. The message says something like: “We found your profile and have a position that matches your skills. Interested?” It provides a link to “schedule a screening call” or “start your application.”

These fake job offers follow a predictable script. After some friendly back-and-forth, you’re told the job requires a “background check fee,” “equipment deposit,” or “training materials payment.” Some variants go further: you’re offered the job and asked to deposit a fake paycheck, then wire back a portion before the check bounces — a classic advance-fee twist wrapped in employment packaging.

The FTC’s April 2026 consumer alert specifically called out job offer text scams as one of the fastest-growing imposter variants. Losses to employment scams have climbed sharply as more Americans seek remote work opportunities.

What to do: Legitimate employers do not recruit via unsolicited texts, and they never ask for money as part of the hiring process. If a company’s name is used, verify the job opening directly on that company’s official website.

3. Romance Investment Scams: When a Love Interest Pitches You Crypto

Sometimes called “pig butchering,” romance investment scams blend two imposter personas in one: a romantic partner and a financial advisor. The scammer contacts you through a dating app, social media, or even a “wrong number” text, builds a warm relationship over days or weeks, then introduces you to an investment platform they claim made them rich.

The platform looks professional. Early “investments” show gains. You invest more. Then, when you try to withdraw, you’re told you owe taxes or fees. The gains were fake, the platform is fraudulent, and the “partner” was never real. In 2025, the FTC reported $2.1 billion in losses to social-media-enabled scams — a category that encompasses romance investment fraud heavily.

The Recovery Scam Trap: Getting Scammed Twice

One of the cruelest trends the FTC tracks is the recovery scam: after you’ve already lost money to a fraud, a second scammer approaches you — often posing as a law enforcement officer, consumer protection agency, or private recovery specialist — and promises to get your money back for an upfront fee.

These scammers troll public records, social media posts, and even dark web stolen data lists to identify recent fraud victims. They know you’re desperate. And they steal again.

The FTC is unambiguous on this point: no legitimate government agency charges upfront fees to recover stolen money. If someone promises to recover your losses for a fee, that promise itself is the next scam.

The Bigger Picture: Nine Years at the Top

The consistency of imposter scams at number one is not an accident. It reflects fundamental features of human psychology — trust in authority, fear of consequences, hope for connection — that remain exploitable regardless of how technology changes. What does change is the delivery mechanism: robocalls gave way to spoofed caller ID, which gave way to text messages, which are now being layered over social media platforms and encrypted messaging apps.

In 2025, social media was the top contact method for fraud that resulted in the highest losses, according to FTC data. Platforms where people expect connection are precisely where scammers find the most effective cover.

Older Americans continue to be targeted disproportionately by government and tech support imposters (where phone calls dominate), while younger consumers — 18 to 34 year-olds — report losing money to fraud more frequently per capita than any other age group, largely via social media and online channels. No demographic is immune.

How to Report Imposter Scams to the FTC

The FTC relies on consumer reports to identify emerging fraud patterns, issue public warnings, and refer patterns to law enforcement. Reporting takes about five minutes and can prevent the next person from being victimized.

Report online: ReportFraud.ftc.gov

When you file a report, include:

  • The phone number, email address, or website used by the scammer
  • How you were contacted (text, call, social media DM, email)
  • What the scammer claimed (government agency, company, recruiter, romantic interest)
  • Whether you lost money, and if so, how (wire transfer, gift card, crypto, credit card)
  • Any screenshots or message records you have saved

Even if you lost no money — even if you caught it in time — your report matters. The FTC uses aggregated data to spot geographic patterns, new scam scripts, and rising fraud categories before they become billion-dollar crises.

For toll text scams specifically: Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) to report it to your carrier.

For job scams: Also report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Protecting Yourself in 2026

The FTC’s core guidance hasn’t changed, because the core vulnerability hasn’t changed: scammers create urgency, pressure, and manufactured trust to override your judgment.

Slow down. Verify independently using contact information you find yourself — not a number in a suspicious text or email. Never pay anyone who contacts you unexpectedly, regardless of who they claim to be. And if someone promises to recover money you already lost, hang up.

The $3.5 billion stolen from Americans in 2025 did not have to happen. Most of it came from moments where pressure worked faster than skepticism. Your best defense is the pause before you act.