South Carolina Scam Report: What's Targeting SC and How to Fight Back
South Carolina residents filed 14,699 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $264.1 million in losses — the 20th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting South Carolina, and exactly where to report one.
Reviewed by the Cautellus team · Last updated July 2026
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report. These are reported figures — the FBI estimates most victims never file, so real losses run far higher.
How South Carolina Compares
Nationally, Americans filed 1,008,597 complaints and reported $20.877 billion in losses in 2025 — up 26% from the year before, with an average loss of $20,699 per complaint.
South Carolina ranks 21st in raw complaint volume and 20th in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 23rd in complaints and 23rd in losses per 100,000 residents.
Scams Targeting South Carolina Seniors
South Carolina residents aged 60 and over filed 3,136 complaints and reported $97.3 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 37% of everything lost in the state. Nationally, the 60+ age group lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age bracket, led by investment fraud, tech-support scams, and romance scams.
If a parent or grandparent in South Carolina gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in South Carolina
2,176 South Carolina complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $118.5 million in associated losses — about 45% of the state's reported total. Most of it is investment fraud: “pig butchering” schemes that start with a friendly message on social media, a dating app, or a wrong-number text, and end at a fake trading platform that won't let you withdraw. Crypto ATM payment demands — for “bail,” “back taxes,” or “securing your account” — are the other major pattern. No legitimate business or government agency takes payment through a crypto ATM.
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Scan Now — It's FreeScam Patterns Hitting South Carolina
Losses nearly doubled in one year
South Carolinians reported $264.1 million in losses in 2025 — up $118 million from $146 million in 2024, per the FBI's Columbia field office. Investment fraud and elder-targeted scams drove the spike.
Retiree-corridor targeting
The coastal retirement corridor from Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head is heavily targeted with Medicare fraud, tech-support pop-ups, and romance scams — residents 60+ reported $97.3 million in losses.
Hurricane and storm contractor fraud
Storm repair fraud follows every coastal event. Verify contractors through the South Carolina LLR before paying deposits.
How to Report a Scam in South Carolina
- 1If money moved, call your bank first. Ask for the fraud department and request a recall or reversal. Minutes matter more than anything else on this list.
- 2File with the FBI at ic3.gov. Fast reports give the FBI's Recovery Asset Team a chance to freeze wire transfers — and your complaint becomes part of the same dataset this page is built on.
- 3Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. FTC reports feed the Consumer Sentinel network used by law enforcement nationwide.
- 4File with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office. State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in South Carolina.
- 5Warn the next person. Share what happened on Cautellus so the phone number, website, or username gets flagged for everyone else who searches it.
FAQs
How much money did South Carolina residents lose to scams in 2025?
South Carolina residents reported $264.1 million in losses across 14,699 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 20th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Actual losses are higher, since most scams are never reported.
How do I report a scam in South Carolina?
File with the FBI at ic3.gov (especially if you lost money — fast reporting helps the FBI's Recovery Asset Team attempt to freeze transfers), report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and file a complaint with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office. If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older South Carolina residents targeted more?
South Carolina residents aged 60 and over filed 3,136 complaints and reported $97.3 million in losses in 2025 — about 37% of the state's reported losses. Nationally, people 60+ lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age group.
Other States in the South
Before You Pay, Click, or Reply
Every scam pattern on this page shares one weakness: it falls apart under a second opinion. If a text, email, link, or phone number feels off, run it through the Cautellus scanner before you act — it checks against 10,000+ confirmed scam entities aggregated from Reddit, FBI IC3, FTC, and global phishing databases, refreshed every 6 hours.
Think you've received a scam?
Paste a suspicious message, email, or URL into our free AI scanner for instant analysis.
Scan Now — It's FreeSources: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report — state complaint, loss, per-capita, 60+, and cryptocurrency tables.