Coloradans Are Being Ripped-Off By These 10 Most-Used Scams

Scams in Colorado took in well over $100 million in 2023; criminals are getting smarter every year.

By knowing what "cons" are being used the most, we can help ourselves, and family members, from bearing the weight of embarrassment and drained bank accounts.

The data may not even be complete, as not everyone comes forward after being ripped off.

It really does come down to "the more you know, the better off you'll be," when it comes to Colorado residents not being taken for fools. Tens of thousands of Coloradans reported fraud in 2023, maybe 2024 will see much less.

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In today's age of AI, it's gong to get even tougher for us not to be taken advantage of. In early 2024, AI technology was used to create an intricate deepfake of a company's Chief Financial Officer and others in video conference call with an employee.

That deepfake call ended up costing that company $25 million.

$25 million, however, is a drop in the bucket as compared the total losses suffered by Coloradans in 2023.

How Much Was Lost to Fraud in Colorado in 2023?

$164 million. Again, that is data pulled from reported fraud events; imagine how much higher that number would be if every single case of fraud was included.

It's not just older adults getting ripped off, but it does make one worry about their aging parents/grandparents. The ways in which these cons are perpetrated, advances with each passing year, and with family members getting older, they may not be aware.

RELATED: Colorado's 'Great Diamond Hoax of 1872'

It's important that we all know these scams so that we can pass the information along, and also be listening to family members when they bring certain things up - we could be able to prevent them from being "conned."

A recent study done by a QR code generating company looked at data from the Federal Trade Commission what states were being defrauded the most.

Colorado was found to be the 7th most defrauded state in the US based on money lost relative to the state's population size.

 

$164,231,218 was lost to scammers in Colorado in 2023 across 40,625 reports to the FTC, which equates to $2.8 million lost per 100,000 residents.