North Carolina Consumers Report Over $1 Billion in Scam Losses in Five Years; Durham County Has State's Highest Per-Capita Immigration-Scam Rate
RALEIGH–DURHAM, North Carolina — An analysis released on October 22 shows that scam losses reported by North Carolina consumers have totaled more than $1 billion over the past five years and are climbing year by year: reported losses rose from about $95 million in 2021 to more than $342 million in 2025, while the number of reports held roughly steady, about 71,000 in 2021 and about 74,000 in 2025. The analysis, by the Associated Press based on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data, highlights Durham County: a county of about 350,000 people, it recorded only seven reports categorized as immigration-services scams over five years, yet that is the highest per-capita rate for that category in the state. The analysis notes that reports are not the same as verified scams, that many victims never report, and that the true scale of victimization in immigrant communities is unknown; the FTC has long tracked immigration-services scams in North Carolina and, as early as 2014, joined U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for a consumer-protection event in Durham aimed at immigrant communities. The North Carolina Department of Justice reminds residents to verify that a business or website is legitimate before paying money or handing over personal information, and to file a complaint with the department if they suspect a scam.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Raleigh 市区天际线。图片：James Willamor，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Downtown Raleigh skyline. Photo: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
