The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and the FBI Phoenix Division are urging the public to be vigilant against sophisticated email scams, highlighting the issue on National Senior Fraud Awareness Day as Arizona ranks sixth nationally in financial losses to cybercrime.
According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, scammers caused an estimated $20.9 billion in losses nationwide last year, a significant increase from $16 billion in 2020. Arizona alone accounted for nearly $631 million in losses, placing it behind only California, Texas, Florida, New York, and New Jersey.
Common schemes include Business Email Compromise (BEC), spoofing, phishing, tech support scams, government impersonation, and grandparent scams. BEC scams, also known as email account compromise, were responsible for approximately $3 billion in losses in 2025, making them the second largest category after investment fraud. These scams often involve criminals mimicking legitimate entities, such as a real estate title company, to trick victims into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts.
Law enforcement emphasizes that immediate action is crucial for victims. Individuals who suspect they have been scammed should contact their financial institution and report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours. Prompt reporting can trigger recovery processes to freeze fraudulent accounts and potentially recover stolen funds, as the likelihood of recovery decreases substantially with every passing minute.