This is just how successful scammers were in New Jersey last year, FBI says

🔴 New Jersey ranks 5th in the nation for total $$$ lost to scams

🔴 More than 12,000 victims

🔴 FBI shares crucial tip to protect yourself from scams

TRENTON — New Jersey is a gold mine for scammers looking to defraud victims out of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new FBI report.

Scammers defrauded New Jersey residents out of $441.2 million last year. That's a staggering 55% increase from the $284.6 million in reported losses in 2022.

New Jersey now ranks fifth in the nation when it comes to the amount lost by victims. The state ranked sixth behind Georgia in 2022 but jumped ahead of the Peach State last year.

Only four states beat out New Jersey in total losses in 2023.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, which receives and tracks reported cybercrime, recorded 12,253 complaints from New Jersey residents in 2023.

New Jersey ranked 14th for reported complaints compared to other states.

It should come as no surprise that New Jersey ranks so highly for total losses and complaints, said Jim Dennehy, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Newark. That's because the area as a whole has a lot of wealth and scammers go where the money is.

Individual victims aren't losing small amounts either, especially the elderly. Elderly victims are getting defrauded by $40,000 per call or more, Dennehy said.

RELATED: This scam is everywhere in New Jersey: How to protect yourself

Crucial tip to protect yourself from scams

Dennehy shared one tip he said would make a major dent in fraud, especially for older New Jersey residents.

"Don't send money until you have the opportunity to talk to a trusted family member or friend. And if you just follow that piece of advice, it would probably cut these frauds in half because a lot of times emotional decisions are being made and the result is you losing all your money," said Dennehy.

Popular scams

The FBI report showed that phishing scams have become the dominant type of scam, especially since 2020. Phishing, also known as spoofing, is the use of unsolicited emails, text messages, and calls to impersonate a real company to get personal or financial information.

The increase is likely from people spending more time on their computers since the pandemic, Dennehy said.

Other top reasons victims lose money to fraud are tech support scams, extortion, and personal data breaches. Below are some examples of real-life scam attempts.

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