As shoppers are finishing their online gift-buying ahead of Christmas, Floridians in particular should keep a sharp eye out for scams.
A new study published by Mailgo, an online artificial intelligence email campaign and marketing company, found that Florida ranked seventh in the nation for suffering the most due to online scams. The analysis looked at data at the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center to rank states based on scam impact and the amount of money victims lost.
The study compiled variable factors to come up with a “scam effect score.” Florida amassed a score of 85.37. That’s the seventh-highest in America.
High complaint frequency and significant financial losses contributed most to that ranking. In Florida, scam victims lost about $45.86 on average, ranking seventh-highest in the U.S. There were about 2.23 scam complaints for every 1,000 people in the state. That was the 11th-highest in the country.
“Florida’s unique demographic profile makes it a prime target for sophisticated fraud schemes. Scammers aggressively target retirees through phishing emails impersonating Social Security offices, Medicare providers, and investment firms, exploiting both financial assets and potential digital literacy gaps,” said Lennon Han, an email communications analyst for Mailgo.
“Technical email authentication and threat-detection systems provide essential protection that awareness alone cannot deliver, helping identify and block fraudulent messages before they reach inboxes.”
Florida was the only Southern state in the U.S. to make the top 10, which was focused mainly on Western states. Nevada topped the list, followed by Arizona, California, Wyoming, Washington and Colorado. Maryland placed eighth, with Massachusetts at No. 9 and Alaska at No. 10.
IdentityTheft.org, which analyzes scams, reported that email remains the primary avenue for AI scammers to use. Extortion is the fastest-rising type of crime, followed by crimes against children, investment, government impersonation, and employment scams.
