WA The 4th Most Heavily Defrauded State, Says New Study

According to a recent Federal Trade Commission study, WA State ranks 4th from the bottom in fraud losses.

WA state residents lost almost $250 million in 2023

The average loss per person, said the study, was $500. Interestingly, people under the age of 60 are far more likely to report a fraud loss than those over that age - despite the recent efforts of the FTC to investigate and advise on scams against older adults.

Around 53,000 fraud incidents were reported to authorities by WA state residents in 2023, with the largest category being imposter scams. These involve someone being tricked into sending money to another person. This was followed by online shopping review fraud, then financial, loan, and banking fraud.

Overall, nationwide, identity theft was the number one form of reported fraud.

Other recent fraud-related news:

Get our free mobile app

Five common area codes used to scam you

According to SocialCatfish.com, these are area codes that people in Washington and Utah should avoid answering calls from. They're international numbers frequently associated with phone scams. Answering them or calling them back could result in high international calling fees.

Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart