According to a new analysis of FBI data, Florida residents lost more than $40 million to job scams in 2025 – the highest rate per person of any U.S. state – according to a new analysis of FBI data.
The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded nearly 25,000 employment scam complaints nationally, with losses up 37% year-on-year.
The numbers:
Florida residents filed 2,096 employment scam complaints in 2025, losing a combined $40 million. This is more than double the $19 million lost in 2024.
That works out to $171,000 in job scam losses per 100,000 residents – the highest rate of any U.S. state.
42% of Florida’s job scam complaints involved cryptocurrency, with scammers increasingly using fake “remote work” tasks to drain victims’ crypto wallets.
The risk is intensifying in Florida this year. More than 6,100 Floridians have already lost their jobs in 2026 according to filed WARN notices, and Spirit Airlines’ sudden shutdown will put thousands more out of work – many in South Florida, where the airline is headquartered.
Matthew Stern, CEO of CNC Intelligence, a digital forensics firm, warns that mass job losses create ideal conditions for scammers: newly unemployed people, anxious to find work, are far more likely to engage with a “recruiter” they’d normally ignore.
Job scams typically involve criminals posing as recruiters or employers via email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or Telegram – to steal personal data, payment details, or to trick victims into sending money for equipment, training, or “investments” needed to unlock pay.
Stern explains: “No real employer will ever ask you to pay before you can start the job or access your own earnings. If you realise you’ve already been caught up in one of these schemes, cut off contact straight away and report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.”
Florida lost more than $40 million to job scams last year – the highest per-capita rate of any US state. Losses more than doubled year-on-year, and 42% of complaints involve cryptocurrency.
