Home / Scam Statistics 2026

Online Scam Statistics 2026

Every number on this page comes from the RavenX threat database: 19 verified online scams analyzed, 63,152 victim reports, and manipulation-tactic analysis of each scheme. All statistics are free to cite with attribution.

Key findings

Of the 19 online scams verified and rated by RavenX, 19 (100%) score 25 or lower on the 0–100 trust scale, placing them in the extreme-risk band where victim losses are most likely. The average trust score across all rated scams is just 9 out of 100. The scams span 12 distinct categories, from fake courses and crypto schemes to AI-powered impersonation, and together account for 63,152 victim reports.

The single most common manipulation tactic is Authority, found in 79% of all tracked scams, followed by Greed (79%) and FOMO (47%). Most schemes combine three or more tactics, layering urgency and social pressure on top of a fabricated opportunity.

Manipulation tactics by frequency

Percentage of tracked scams that use each psychological tactic:

• 79%Authority — appears in 15 of 19 tracked scams
• 79%Greed — appears in 15 of 19 tracked scams
• 47%FOMO — appears in 9 of 19 tracked scams
• 47%Social Proof — appears in 9 of 19 tracked scams
• 42%Urgency — appears in 8 of 19 tracked scams
• 42%Scarcity — appears in 8 of 19 tracked scams
• 37%Fear — appears in 7 of 19 tracked scams
• 11%Reciprocity — appears in 2 of 19 tracked scams
• 11%Commitment — appears in 2 of 19 tracked scams

Scams by type

Distribution of the 19 verified scams across RavenX threat tiers. Each tier links to the full list of rated schemes:

Most reported scams

The five schemes with the highest victim report counts in the database:

Methodology

RavenX verifies every scam entry before it is counted in these statistics. Each scheme is documented with red flags observed in the wild, assigned a trust score from 0 to 100 (lower means more dangerous), and tagged with the psychological manipulation tactics it relies on. Report counts aggregate victim submissions and public complaint data. Unverified user submissions are excluded from all figures on this page. Statistics update automatically as new scams are verified, so the numbers above always reflect the current state of the database.

Cite or share these statistics

All statistics on this page are published under a CC BY 4.0 license: free to use in articles, research, and reports with a link back to this page.

Link HTML: