You’ve probably heard, whether from the news or from somebody you know, that more and more people are falling for schemes that trick them out of their money. Or you’ve probably faced these yourself and now want to stay updated on the latest scams to protect yourself in the future.
The thing is, fraudsters constantly update their tactics when the old ones stop bearing fruit or when they become less effective. When they come up with something that works better, they immediately start implementing it. And when people aren’t yet aware of those new tricks, they have a higher chance of becoming a victim. According to Sarah Foster, a Bankrate U.S. economic analyst, “Financial scams today come in all shapes and sizes, advancing far beyond the typo-ridden text messages that so obviously look to be from a scammer.” That’s right—when it comes to scams, there’s something for everyone. And plenty of individuals lose huge sums of money, even those who think that it can’t happen to them. As an example, in 2024, Americans reported losing $5.7 billion only to investment scams, which is a 24% increase from the previous year, as reported by the Federal Trade Commission.
Let’s now take a close look at some of the biggest financial fraud schemes as of 2025.
4 Financial Scams to Be Aware of in 2025
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Celebrity Deepfakes
Many celebrities promote certain products on their social media pages, from face creams and perfumes to fitness products and tech gadgets. And you know that it’s real when you spot a verified badge on a social media page with thousands or millions of followers. However, there’s also deepfakes that you need to be aware of. Deepfakes are (highly) realistic synthetic media created using artificial intelligence to manipulate videos, images, or audio. Some celebrities are deepfaked more than others due to public interest, including Tom Cruise, Elon Musk, Keanu Reeves, Taylor Swift, and others.
Some of the common telltale giveaways of deepfakes are unnatural body and eye movements, delayed of stiff blinking, shadows that don’t align naturally with the face or background, certain syllables or words that look unnatural when spoken, and warping effects in the background, among other things.
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Home-From-Work Scams
Since the pandemic, the rise in remote work has significantly increased. According to Neat, 14% of Americans work from home. And many job seekers look for work-from-home jobs on social media, job boards, freelancing platforms, and more. This, of course, has been picked up by scammers, and now they target unsuspecting job seekers for fraud. One of the giveaway signs of work-from-home scams is unrealistic offers. Some are offered high-paying jobs with minimum or no experience required. Such jobs usually include scammers saying that it’s enough to work just a few hours a day and that the salary is much higher than on the job market. This, of course, should raise significant concern. Other signs include vague job descriptions, unprofessional communication, upfront fees, lack of an interview process, and no company information (or something that is made up).
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Romance Scams
The main goal of romance scammers is to trick their victims into sending them money, for, as they usually say, “medical expenses,” “to buy a ticket to come to your country,” and more. Romance scams can affect anyone who’s looking for a partner on social media or dating apps. Some groups, however, are more prone to falling victim. These include older individuals, widows, divorced people, and those with a trusting nature in general. And it’s hard to blame them. When there’s little to no social interaction in real life, many turn to what seemingly seems like an effective solution—dating apps. But those are rife with malicious individuals waiting to defraud you. When the relationship develops quickly, they may say that they need money for an emergency or ask for confidential information, which is a sign to step back.
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Fake Charity Scams
Those are mostly prevalent during natural disasters or during times of crisis when people are more likely to feel compassionate and are ready to help. Some of the examples are the Notre-Dame fire, Covid-19, and California wildfires, after which people were making contributions to charitable organizations responsible for helping restoring the church and assisting those in need.
Of course, then there’s scammers. And for some, it’s difficult to tell genuine charities from fake ones. But there’s something that can help you. Fake charities usually use emotional manipulation, create sites that look similar to those of real organizations, impersonate well-known non-profits, have no physical address, and don’t give enough information. In the U.S., legitimate charities usually have tax-exempt status and can provide proof of their nonprofit status. You can check if an organization is tax-exempt through the IRS’s website. Fake charity fraud undermines people’s desire to help those who actually need it. When they fall for a fake charity, they don’t have much of a desire to continue doing it even if the charity is real.
Let’s Sum Up
Scams have been there since the inception of the internet. But recent studies show that most of them are becoming more and more sophisticated, defrauding unsuspecting individuals out of their hard-earned money. Celebrity deepfakes, WFH scams, romance scams, and charity fraud are just a few widespread fraudulent schemes to avoid in 2025.
