WOWK 13 News

Study finds record increase in money lost to online scams—here’s how West Virginia ranked

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginians lost $10 million to online scams last year, up from $5 million in 2020, according to a new study by consumer protection company Social Catfish.

According to the study, the average victim in West Virginia lost $4,428 to online scams last year. While the total amount lost doubled, West Virginia actually lost the least to online scams when Social Catfish broke down the amount lost by state. Californians lost the most at $1,227,989,139 total, or $18,302 per average victim.

The amount of money lost to online scams per state. Credit: Social Catfish.

The study resulted in other interesting findings:

  1. A record $6.9 billion was lost in 2021 nationwide, which according to Social Catfish, means the amount lost yearly to online scams since the start of the pandemic has doubled.
  2. Despite stereotypes, 75% of romance scam victims are college educated. Social Catfish polled 3,074 victims and found that 2,305, or 75%, were college educated, and 13% earned graduate degrees.
  3. Middle and lower-class Americans, which Social Catfish considered those who make less than $100,000 a year, made up 84% of romance scam victims.
  4. Teenagers are now losing money to online scams at a higher rate than seniors. Social Catfish’s poll found a 1,125% increase in money lost to online scams in the last five years for victims younger than 20—the highest increase of any age group. The increase for seniors was 390%.
  5. A record $1.6 billion was lost to cryptocurrency scams in 2021, up almost seven-fold from $246 million in 2020 according to FBI statistics.

The study got its data from three sources:

Social Catfish also shared some advice about how to avoid online scams: