Online Shopping and Prize Scams Reported $783 Million in Losses in 2024: Small Individual Losses, Enormous Totals
Online shopping and negative review fraud drew 383,441 reports in 2024 — the second-highest report count of any category — with total losses of $432 million and a median loss of just $130, according to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024. Prizes, sweepstakes and lottery scams drew 97,350 reports and $351 million in losses. Together the two categories account for $783 million in reported losses. This article reviews the official data and red flags for everyday small-dollar fraud: marketplace deals, tickets, fake customer service and fake jobs.
High volume, small individual losses
The online shopping category's median loss of $130 is the lowest among the top five loss categories, yet its report count trails only imposter scams. Business and job opportunity scams drew 126,217 reports and $751 million in losses in 2024, with a median loss of $2,250, covering fake jobs and bogus money-making offers. By contact method, the FTC found that 70 percent of reports that began on social media reported a loss — the highest share of any channel; secondhand deals and shopping disputes typically play out over social media, websites or apps.
Ticket scams and the payment red line
A California Attorney General ticket-fraud alert draws an explicit payment red line: do not buy tickets with gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency — being asked to pay in these ways is a strong sign of a scam. Victims can report to the Attorney General (the California Attorney General's report page), the Better Business Bureau and the FBI's IC3. FTC data back up the red line: 2024 losses paid by gift card totaled $212 million, by payment app $391 million and by cash $308 million.
Refunds do happen
GSM has reported that the FTC sent more than $9.8 million in refunds to 65,022 consumers, arising from a case over Walmart's failure to stop money-transfer fraud. Legislation signed by Michigan's governor also included provisions addressing gift card fraud. In another case GSM covered, a Sacramento County man who posed as a San Francisco 49ers player was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud — impersonating celebrities and officials is a standard disguise for small-dollar schemes as well.
Official red flags, consolidated
From the FTC and the California Attorney General: demands to pay by gift card, prepaid debit card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency are a strong sign of a scam; social-media ads featuring celebrity endorsements and guaranteed returns commonly use stolen photos or SI-generated imagery, and investment ads should first be checked by searching the company name together with "scam" or "complaint"; fake customer service and fake job schemes typically move the conversation off the original platform and demand payment or personal information up front; and federal law now requires dating apps to send users fraud-ban notices, as GSM reported on October 20, 2026. Report at the FTC's ReportFraud site, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or the California Attorney General's report page.
Source: GSM·USA
Related: FTC Sends More Than $9.8 Million to 65,022 Consumers Harmed in Walmart Wire Transfer Case
Related: Michigan Governor Signs Bipartisan Bills on Cannabis Education, Gift Card Fraud
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国海关与边境保护局人员查验查获的假冒名牌手提包（美国海关与边境保护局 CBP 官方照片，公共领域）— via Wikimedia Commons / A CBP officer inspects seized counterfeit designer handbags (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, public domain) — via Wikimedia Commons
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