By Danielle Smith, Keystone State News Service
Photo courtesy of Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Pennsylvania ranks as one of the top states for online scams, according to a new report from the Consumer Federation of America. Pennsylvanians lose $2.9 billion annually to online scams, or about $220 per person.
Ben Winters, director of artificial intelligence and privacy for the Consumer Federation of America, said the majority of online scams originate on social media platforms owned by Meta.
“Better Business Bureau cites Facebook as a source of 57% of social media scams, with Instagram comprising 22% and WhatsApp at 8%,” Winters reported. “All three of those platforms are owned by the same company that has earned a reputation for failing to protect.”
Winters added that more than two-thirds of Americans said they have been the victim of an online scam. The majority today see online scams and fraud as a big issue they worry will only get worse with AI, and most importantly, they want change to address this growing crisis.
In 2025, Pennsylvania enacted Senate Bill 649, a major anti-fraud law targeting AI-generated scams.
Nationwide, the report estimated Americans will lose about $119 billion to online scams and fraud.
Kelsey Souter, partner in the polling firm Upswing Research, said one in three Americans now feels less confident about spotting scams than they did a year ago. She also pointed to a Microsoft survey, which showed scams are a global issue and are not only targeting older adults. Recent polls showed young people are also affected.
“Ninety-one percent of the teens that they surveyed said that they are concerned about AI,” Souter noted. “And within that, 77% say they are very worried about AI-based scams in particular.”
Legislation such as the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct Act, introduced in Congress this session by Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., and Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., aims to address growing concerns about online scams.
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