New Yorkers lost about $6.5 billion to fraud schemes in 2025, report says

New Yorkers lost about $6.5 billion to fraud schemes in 2025, according to a new report from the Consumer Federation of America.

The report, titled "The Scam Economy: The True Cost of Online Scams and Crimes in America," says Americans are losing at least $119 billion a year to online scams, and many start with direct messaging on social media.

State Attorney General Letitia James joined advocates and victims at Elmont Library on Thursday for a listening session on the explosion of fraud.

"We are seeing retirement accounts drained in a single transfer, life savings wiped out," said Chuck Bell, with Consumer Reports.

"Please, do not release any information which is private -- your Social Security, your bank information, no information at all," James said.

Experts say key warning signs include urgent requests for money, cryptocurrency payments or gift cards, or strangers asking to move conversations off social media platforms.

"Made me feel like I could trust him"

For Cynthia Norris, it started with direct messages on Instagram from a man who claimed to be a well-known comedian in Finland.

"Was so personable and made me feel like I could trust him. He was so patient with teaching me how to do Bitcoin, and then it just, he just started, like, love-bombing me, as they say," she said.

In hundreds of messages, he pretended to be helping Norris make money. By the time she realized it was a scheme, she had sent him $58,000.

She said the shame keeps many victims silent.

"It's a crime of trust, which to me is worse than breaking into somebody's house, really," Norris said.

"It destroys the being of you"

A widowed grandmother on Long Island, who did not want to share her identity, said she met a man on a dating app who claimed he was an accomplished engineer overseas.

"He sent me emails with love poems. He sent me songs," she said. "[He said] when he gets home, we're gonna meet."

He convinced her to wire hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of gift cards, claiming he needed the money for "emergencies."

"They stole his wallet. He had no money," the victim said.

She went on Facebook for help to recover the money and was scammed yet again. By the end, she had lost $800,000.

"It destroys the being of you, every shred that you have in your body," she said.

Neither of the victims got any of their money back, but they said sharing their stories is their way of fighting back.