Key Takeaways

• The FTC says that for the second consecutive year, email was the most common contact method consumers reported for fraud in 2024.
• FTC’s 2024 Consumer Sentinel Data Book says email accounted for 25% of fraud reports when a contact method was identified.
• Pew found most Americans get scam calls, texts, and emails at least weekly, and 63% say they get scam emails weekly.
• The FTC says consumers reported more than $12.5 billion in fraud losses in 2024, and the jump was driven more by a higher share of successful scams than by rising report volume.
• APWG says it observed 1,003,924 phishing attacks in Q1 2025, the highest quarterly total since late 2023.
• APWG’s Q4 2025 report says business email compromise (BEC) was responsible for $2.8 billion in reported U.S. losses in 2024.

CORE STATISTICS

• 25% of fraud reports with an identified contact method involved email in 2024.
• For the second consecutive year, email was the most commonly reported fraud contact method in FTC data.
• 63% of U.S. adults say they get scam emails at least weekly.
• 73% of U.S. adults say they have experienced at least one online scam or attack.
• 1,003,924 phishing attacks were observed by APWG in Q1 2025.
• APWG’s Q1 2025 summary says online payment and financial sectors together accounted for 30.9% of phishing attacks in that quarter.
• APWG’s Q1 2025 report says the total number of wire-transfer BEC attacks increased 33% from the prior quarter.
• APWG’s Q4 2025 report says BEC caused $2.8 billion in reported U.S. losses in 2024.

TRENDS & INSIGHTS

The biggest email-scam trend is persistence. Even with the growth of texts, social media, and app-based scams, email remains the single most commonly reported contact method in FTC fraud data. That means email is still one of the most dependable scam-delivery channels.

Another clear trend is the overlap between ordinary scam email and credential-driven phishing. FTC contact-method data shows how often email begins the interaction, while APWG data shows phishing remains massive in scale and continues to target financial and payment-related sectors heavily. Taken together, that suggests email remains a core entry point into account theft, impersonation, and downstream fraud.

A third trend is that email scams are no longer easy to recognize by poor grammar or crude formatting. FTC and Pew data show widespread consumer exposure, while APWG’s reports show criminals are using newer methods like QR-code phishing and large-scale BEC operations. That means modern email scams are becoming more polished and more varied.

REAL-WORLD CONTEXT

For consumers, email scams often arrive as password-reset notices, fake invoices, package updates, account-lock alerts, subscription issues, charity appeals, or business messages that seem routine. They work because email is still where people expect to receive real notices from banks, retailers, service providers, and employers. This is an inference supported by FTC contact-method data and APWG phishing trends.

For adults 45–75, email remains especially important because it is often the default channel for bills, account alerts, health notices, shopping confirmations, and family communication. That makes email scams dangerous not because email is new, but because it feels normal. This is a reasoned conclusion based on the cited exposure and contact-method data.

WHO IS MOST AT RISK

• People who click links in unexpected account, payment, or delivery emails. FTC phishing guidance directly warns against this.
• Consumers who reuse passwords, since phishing can convert one credential theft into multiple account compromises. This is an inference supported by APWG’s phishing and BEC trend data.
• People who receive high volumes of scam emails and act quickly on urgent requests.
• Businesses and consumers exposed to business email compromise tactics.

QUICK CHECKLIST (what this means)

• Email is still the top reported fraud contact method.
• Scam-email exposure is constant for many Americans.
• Phishing remains large-scale in 2025.
• Email scams now range from simple phishing to large BEC operations.
• Verification matters more than how polished the email looks. This is an analytical conclusion based on the sources above.

HOW TO STAY PROTECTED

• Do not click links or open attachments in unexpected emails. Go to the site or app directly instead. FTC guidance says to report phishing emails and avoid interacting with them.
• Forward phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org and report them to the FTC. FTC consumer guidance recommends both actions.
• Use strong, unique passwords and MFA to reduce damage if a phishing email succeeds. This is a practical inference supported by phishing and BEC trends.
• Be cautious with urgent requests involving wire transfers, invoices, password resets, or account problems.

CITABLE STATEMENTS

• The FTC says email was the most common way consumers reported being contacted by scammers in 2024.
• FTC’s 2024 Consumer Sentinel Data Book says email accounted for 25% of fraud reports when a contact method was identified.
• Pew found 63% of U.S. adults say they get scam emails at least weekly.
• APWG says it observed 1,003,924 phishing attacks in Q1 2025.
• APWG’s Q4 2025 report says business email compromise caused $2.8 billion in reported U.S. losses in 2024.

SOURCES

• FTC, New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 Billion in 2024.
• FTC, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024.
• Pew Research Center, Online Scams and Attacks in America Today.
• FTC consumer guidance on phishing.
• APWG, Phishing Activity Trends Reports for Q1 and Q4 2025.