By Sam Parsons
This week is International Fraud Week. Statistics show that incidents of fraud have been on the rise in recent years: the Iowa Department of Public Safety reports that fraud cases are up 6% from 2022 through 2024, and in 2024, the FTC reported that Iowans lost a total of $52 million to financial fraud, a 204% increase from 2020.
Since 2020, Iowans have experienced $72 million in losses from cyber-enabled crimes, according to the FBI. Last year alone, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office received approximately 4,200 consumer fraud complaints, up from 3,700 in 2023.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is using this week to raise awareness of fraud and give Iowans tools to avoid falling victim to fraudsters and scammers. Secretary Pate told the No Coast Network that, unfortunately, the recent uptick in fraud cases simply boils down to bad actors doing what they can to swindle other people out of their money.
Secretary Pate added that these bad actors have used different tactics to scam people and gave some examples that have cropped up in the Oskaloosa area.
In the ever-changing fraud landscape, Secretary Pate said that the most important thing to do to protect yourself is still the same as it’s always been: use strong passwords to protect your information.
For those who believe they have encountered attempted fraud or have noticed something fishy, Secretary Pate says that there are resources available to confirm if something is legit.
And for people who think that they, or someone they know, have already been a victim of fraud, there are a few different channels to go through.
Our full interview with Secretary Pate can be listened to below:
