A Fool and His Money

Nevada’s Costly Year in Fraud

Nevada consumers, ever the trusting sort, managed to part ways with more than $138 million in 2024, a generous donation to the ever-thriving industry of fraud, says the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC, that diligent guardian of the public purse–or at least an observer of its depletion–received a staggering 24,331 fraud reports from Nevada alone, with victims waving goodbye to an average of $519 per case—enough for a decent steak dinner in Virginia City, if not a few rounds at the tables.

These figures, courtesy of the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, were compiled from a veritable who’s who of consumer protection outfits, including law enforcement, the Better Business Bureau, and other watchdogs that bark but, alas, do not always bite in time. If one includes all grievances—identity theft, debt collection woes, and general financial chicanery—the total number of complaints from Nevada consumers ballooned to 73,271.

And lest Nevadans feel uniquely fleeced, take heart—across this great land, 2.6 million Americans joined the exclusive club of the swindled, collectively losing a record-breaking $12.5 billion in 2024, a 25 percent increase over 2023. Investment scams proved the most lucrative for the unscrupulous, siphoning off $5.7 billion nationwide, while imposters—ever the charming rogues—made off with $2.95 billion.

So, as another year dawns, the lesson remains the same: if a deal seems too good to be true, rest assured, it is—and somewhere, a fraudster is already spending your hard-earned cash.