Scammers Targeting Past Victims a Second Time, FTC Warns

Breaking: FTC calls out scams that target people who already lost money

On August 3, the FTC published a consumer alert describing refund and recovery scams as the worst of the absolute worst: scams that target people who have already lost money to a scam. The alert warns that criminals are buying lists of prior fraud victims and posing as government agencies or recovery specialists offering to get lost funds back for an upfront fee.

This matches a pattern AVASC's own database has been tracking since mid-June: prior victims contacted by fake recovery firms and callers impersonating the FBI/IC3, promising fund recovery for a fee. The FBI has publicly stated it does not operate this way — real recovery, when it happens, comes through federal forfeiture actions, not cold calls.

Why it matters: this is a designed second hit. Scammers know victims are already anxious to recoup losses, embarrassed, and less likely to double-check a caller's credentials.

Social-media investment pitches and AI-run romance-investment cons

On August 7, the FTC published guidance on spotting online learn-to-trade and investment-training pitches — ads and influencer posts promising guaranteed returns from crypto or stock trading. The agency's alert notes that despite flashy lifestyle marketing, trading is risky, there are no guaranteed returns, and people can lose a lot of money fast.

This sits alongside a larger, more damaging pattern: reporting this summer has described crypto pig-butchering syndicates that use AI to run thousands of simultaneous romance-investment conversations, funneling victims toward fake trading platforms. Analysts note that AI-enabled scams have generated significantly more revenue per operation than traditional scams, with average scam payments rising sharply in the past year. The FBI's newly released 2025 Internet Crime Report confirms investment fraud remains the costliest category nationwide, with Americans losing more than $20 billion to cybercrime in 2025, elder fraud losses reaching $7.7 billion (up 59% from 2024), and $3.5 billion of that tied to investment fraud.

AVASC has logged this same cluster since early June: romance contacts that pivot into crypto investment, with losses per victim frequently reaching five and six figures. If an online relationship turns into a trading tip, treat it as a red flag, not an opportunity.

Still active: the toll-text wave

State transportation departments and attorneys general continue to issue warnings about a nationwide text campaign claiming small unpaid tolls. Genuine tolling agencies won't demand payment this way — as Michigan's consumer protection office notes, agencies will not text you to demand money; they will mail a notice and offer payment options, and will not ask for or take payment by prepaid gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app. AVASC's data shows this wave running from late May through early July and still generating reports.