Elder abuse, AI deepfakes and TikToks: 2024’s fraud trends

In 2024, the overall rate of fraud targeting both consumers and financial institutions decreased, but at least for consumers, these schemes became more costly. It’s a continuation of trends from recent years in which fewer people and institutions suffer fraud losses, but the losses that do occur are more costly overall.

Beneath these top-line fraud figures, however, are more specific and troubling trends. For example, even as fraud has decreased overall, financial exploitation of seniors (including both fraud and theft) has gained salience with regulators and states that are looking to tamp down on it.

The past year also yielded some notable headlines featuring fraud and scams. In February, an inspector general report provided details about how a pig butchering scam hastened the failure of a regional bank. Then, in September, Chase found itself trending on TikTok as word of a supposed glitch allowed people to magically add money to their bank accounts — so long as they committed check fraud.

Here’s a look back at the year in scams and fraud.