{"meta":{"database":"Global Social Engineering Impact Database","url":"https://global-social-engineering-impact-da.vercel.app","license":"CC BY 4.0 — attribute to Netarx Social Engineering Incident Database","generated":"2026-08-29T06:27:50.209Z"},"catalogue":{"entries":277,"countedEntries":272,"incidents":216,"campaigns":56,"benchmarks":5,"sources":577,"yearRange":[1995,2026],"aiConfirmed":24,"aiSuspected":10,"liveChannelEntries":129,"attemptsBlocked":26,"victimLossUsd":5367346501,"victimLossEntries":54,"nonComparableFigureEntries":31,"reportedPeopleAffected":1839654668,"note":"victimLossUsd sums only entries whose loss_kind is direct_loss or ransom_paid. Figures of other kinds (aggregate, seizure, business_impact, criminal_proceeds) are excluded because they do not measure the same thing. Even so this is a floor, not an estimate of true cost."},"breakdowns":{"byVector":[{"value":"Vishing (Voice Phishing)","count":54},{"value":"Credential Phishing Portal","count":36},{"value":"Business Email Compromise","count":32},{"value":"Spear Phishing (Email)","count":28},{"value":"Help Desk Impersonation","count":20},{"value":"Vendor / Supply Chain Impersonation","count":15},{"value":"Voice Clone / Audio Deepfake","count":11},{"value":"Fake IT Worker Infiltration","count":10},{"value":"Insider Recruitment","count":9},{"value":"Smishing (SMS)","count":9},{"value":"Deepfake Video Call","count":8},{"value":"Fake Job Offer / Recruitment Lure","count":8},{"value":"SIM Swap","count":8},{"value":"Watering Hole / Malvertising","count":7},{"value":"Romance / Investment Scam","count":5},{"value":"MFA Fatigue / Push Bombing","count":3},{"value":"Physical Pretexting","count":3},{"value":"Tech Support Scam","count":3},{"value":"QR Code Phishing","count":2},{"value":"Callback Phishing (TOAD)","count":1}],"bySector":[{"value":"Technology","count":52},{"value":"Cryptocurrency","count":31},{"value":"Government","count":27},{"value":"Consumer","count":21},{"value":"Financial Services","count":20},{"value":"Other","count":18},{"value":"Healthcare","count":15},{"value":"Retail","count":14},{"value":"Manufacturing","count":12},{"value":"Transportation & Logistics","count":10},{"value":"Education","count":9},{"value":"Media & Entertainment","count":9},{"value":"Gaming & Casino","count":7},{"value":"Telecom","count":7},{"value":"Professional Services","count":6},{"value":"Energy & Utilities","count":4},{"value":"Hospitality","count":4},{"value":"Nonprofit","count":3},{"value":"Defense","count":2},{"value":"Legal","count":1}],"byOutcome":[{"value":"Data Breach","count":145},{"value":"Credential Theft","count":114},{"value":"Wire Fraud / Financial Loss","count":73},{"value":"Extortion","count":58},{"value":"Identity Theft","count":45},{"value":"Cryptocurrency Theft","count":37},{"value":"Espionage","count":31},{"value":"Service Disruption","count":31},{"value":"Attempt Blocked","count":26},{"value":"Insider Access","count":19},{"value":"Ransomware Deployment","count":16},{"value":"Supply Chain Compromise","count":16}],"byCountry":[{"value":"United States","count":179},{"value":"Global","count":11},{"value":"United Kingdom","count":9},{"value":"Multiple","count":8},{"value":"Unknown","count":6},{"value":"France","count":5},{"value":"Netherlands","count":5},{"value":"Canada","count":3},{"value":"Germany","count":3},{"value":"Hong Kong","count":3},{"value":"India","count":3},{"value":"Japan","count":3},{"value":"Estonia","count":2},{"value":"Ireland","count":2},{"value":"Italy","count":2},{"value":"Taiwan","count":2},{"value":"Ukraine","count":2},{"value":"United Arab Emirates","count":2},{"value":"Australia","count":1},{"value":"Austria","count":1},{"value":"Bangladesh","count":1},{"value":"Belgium","count":1},{"value":"Cambodia","count":1},{"value":"Cyprus","count":1},{"value":"Czech Republic","count":1},{"value":"Denmark","count":1},{"value":"Israel and United States","count":1},{"value":"Multiple countries","count":1},{"value":"Myanmar and Cambodia","count":1},{"value":"Norway","count":1},{"value":"Puerto Rico","count":1},{"value":"Romania","count":1},{"value":"Russia","count":1},{"value":"Singapore","count":1},{"value":"Spain","count":1},{"value":"United States and Canada","count":1},{"value":"United States and India","count":1},{"value":"United States and Mexico","count":1},{"value":"United States and Middle East / North Africa","count":1},{"value":"Vietnam","count":1}],"byAiInvolvement":[{"value":"No AI reported","count":190},{"value":"Unknown","count":48},{"value":"Confirmed AI-enabled","count":24},{"value":"Suspected AI-enabled","count":10}],"byConfidence":[{"value":"Confirmed","count":190},{"value":"Reported","count":76},{"value":"Alleged","count":6}],"byLossKind":[{"value":"direct_loss","count":51},{"value":"aggregate","count":16},{"value":"business_impact","count":11},{"value":"criminal_proceeds","count":7},{"value":"ransom_paid","count":3},{"value":"seizure","count":1}],"entriesPerYear":[{"year":1995,"count":1},{"year":2006,"count":1},{"year":2008,"count":1},{"year":2011,"count":2},{"year":2013,"count":3},{"year":2014,"count":6},{"year":2015,"count":6},{"year":2016,"count":11},{"year":2017,"count":6},{"year":2018,"count":14},{"year":2019,"count":10},{"year":2020,"count":11},{"year":2021,"count":5},{"year":2022,"count":29},{"year":2023,"count":22},{"year":2024,"count":26},{"year":2025,"count":70},{"year":2026,"count":48}],"aiEntriesPerYear":[{"year":2019,"count":1},{"year":2020,"count":1},{"year":2022,"count":2},{"year":2023,"count":3},{"year":2024,"count":11},{"year":2025,"count":13},{"year":2026,"count":3}]},"impactCounters":{"note":"These are sourced estimates of worldwide impact, not sums of this catalogue. Read the methodology before quoting them.","methodologyUrl":"https://global-social-engineering-impact-da.vercel.app/methodology","anchor":"2026-08-29T06:27:50.209Z","money":{"totalUsdAtAnchor":2037135831758,"perSecondUsd":14101.199077242884,"sourcedBaselineUsd":2031768485257,"cataloguedUsd":5367346501,"cataloguedFromEntries":54,"plausibleRangeUsd":[1100000000000,4600000000000]},"people":{"totalAtAnchor":6040163112,"perSecond":17.710806303394428,"sourcedBaseline":4200508444,"catalogued":1839654668,"cataloguedFromEntries":56,"plausibleRange":[2100000000,8400000000],"caveat":"Counts affected persons and exposed records, which overlap heavily. Not a headcount of distinct people."},"sources":{"gasa_headline":{"title":"Global Anti-Scam Alliance homepage headline statistics","publisher":"Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA)","url":"https://www.gasa.org/","year":"2026","figure_quoted":"\"$442 Bn lost worldwide to online scams in the past year\"; \"57% of adults experienced a scam in 12 months\"; \"59% of scam victims never report the incident\"; \"45% encountered even more scams than the year before\""},"gasa_global_2025":{"title":"Global State of Scams Report 2025","publisher":"Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) with Feedzai","url":"https://gasa.org/knowledge-base/reports/global-state-of-scams-2025?hsLang=en","year":"2025 (page dated 31 December 2025)","figure_quoted":"\"seven in ten adults globally have encountered a scam in the last 12 months, with 13% encountering a scam at least once a day\"; based on \"46,000 adults across 42 markets\". Feedzai's page for the same report states \"57% of adults worldwide have been scammed in the past year\". The monetary total is behind a membership wall on both pages; the $442Bn figure is therefore cited from GASA's own homepage instead."},"gasa_usa_2026":{"title":"State of Scams in The United States of America 2026","publisher":"Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA)","url":"https://gasa.org/knowledge-base/reports/state-of-scams-in-in-the-united-states-of-america-2026?hsLang=en","year":"2026","figure_quoted":"\"82% encountering a scam in the past year\"; \"9% experienced financial or data loss\"; \"only 4% reported the incident to authorities\"; \"86% say they are confident in recognizing scams, 43% still interacted with a scammer\"; survey of 3,110 US adults"},"ic3_2025":{"title":"Internet Crime Report 2025","publisher":"FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)","url":"https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2025_IC3Report.pdf","year":"2025","figure_quoted":"\"1,008,597 complaints\" generating \"$20.877 billion in losses\"; BEC: 24,768 complaints, $3,046,598,558 (versus $2,770,151,146 in 2024 and $2,946,830,270 in 2023)"},"ic3_series":{"title":"Internet Crime Report multi-year totals (2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions)","publisher":"FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)","url":"https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports","year":"2019, 2023, 2024, 2025","figure_quoted":"2019 report five-year totals: \"1,707,618 TOTAL COMPLAINTS\" and \"$10.2 Billion TOTAL LOSSES\" (2015-2019). 2023 report: \"880,418 complaints were registered, with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion\" and 2019-2023 totals of \"3.79 million complaints, reporting a loss of $37.4 Billion\". 2024 report: 859,532 complaints, $16.6 billion, and 2020-2024 five-year totals of \"4.2 Million Complaints\" and \"$50.5 Billion in Losses\". 2025 report: 1,008,597 complaints, $20.877 billion."},"ic3_bec_psa":{"title":"Business Email Compromise: The $55 Billion Scam (Public Service Announcement I-091124-PSA)","publisher":"FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)","url":"https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240911","year":"2024","figure_quoted":"Cumulative exposed loss of $55,499,915,582, described as \"Domestic and international exposed dollar loss\" \"reported to the FBI IC3, law enforcement and derived from filings with financial institutions between October 2013 and December 2023\""},"ftc_testimony_2026":{"title":"FTC Testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on Agency's Efforts to Combat Fraud","publisher":"US Federal Trade Commission","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/03/ftc-testifies-joint-economic-committee-agencys-efforts-combat-fraud","year":"2026 (covering calendar year 2025)","figure_quoted":"2025: \"3 million fraud reports from consumers\" and \"$15.9 billion in losses\". \"The agency received more than 1 million reports about imposter scams, with consumers reporting more than $3.5 billion in losses.\" \"Consumers, however, reported losing the most money ($7.9 billion) to investment scams in 2025.\" For 2024: \"consumers submitted 2.6 million fraud reports and reported fraud losses of over $12 billion\"."},"ftc_2024_pr":{"title":"New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 Billion in 2024","publisher":"US Federal Trade Commission","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/03/new-ftc-data-show-big-jump-reported-losses-fraud-125-billion-2024","year":"2025 (covering calendar year 2024)","figure_quoted":"\"consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, which represents a 25% increase over the prior year\"; 2.6 million fraud reports; share of reports involving a monetary loss rose from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024; \"The second highest reported loss amount came from imposter scams, with $2.95 billion reported lost\"; government imposter scams $789 million"},"ftc_sentinel_2024":{"title":"Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024","publisher":"US Federal Trade Commission","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/reports/consumer-sentinel-network-data-book-2024","year":"2025 (covering calendar year 2024)","figure_quoted":"\"During 2024, Sentinel received 6.5 million consumer reports, which the FTC has sorted into 29 top categories.\" (Fraud is one subset of this total; the fraud-specific figures are in the accompanying press release.)"},"ftc_social_spotlight_2026":{"title":"Reported losses to scams on social media eight times higher than in 2020 (Data Spotlight)","publisher":"US Federal Trade Commission","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2026/04/reported-losses-scams-social-media-eight-times-higher-2020","year":"2026 (covering calendar year 2025)","figure_quoted":"Social media scam losses \"reaching a staggering $2.1 billion\" in 2025, of which \"$1.1 billion, more than half the money reported lost, was to investment scammers\"; series $261M (2020), $789M (2021), $1.2B (2022), $1.5B (2023), $1.9B (2024), $2.1B (2025); \"nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam said it started on social media\""},"ukfinance_2026":{"title":"Annual Fraud Report 2026","publisher":"UK Finance","url":"https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/2026-06/UK%20Finance%20Annual%20Fraud%20Report%202026.pdf","year":"2026 (covering calendar year 2025)","figure_quoted":"Total payment fraud losses 2025 \"Total £1,279.8m\" (criminals \"stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in 2025, an increase of four per cent\"); authorised push payment fraud \"Total £576.4m\"; APP cases \"Total 248,070\"; all confirmed fraud cases \"Total 4,062,198\", an 11 per cent year-on-year increase"},"nasc_2025":{"title":"Targeting Scams: report on scams in Australia","publisher":"National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), Australian Competition and Consumer Commission","url":"https://www.nasc.gov.au/reports-and-publications/targeting-scams","year":"2026 (covering calendar year 2025)","figure_quoted":"2025 combined reported losses \"$2.18 billion (an increase of 7.8%)\" from \"481,523 scam reports (a decrease of 2.3%)\", combining data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, IDCARE, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange and ASIC"},"dbir_2026":{"title":"2026 Data Breach Investigations Report","publisher":"Verizon Business","url":"https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/","year":"2026","figure_quoted":"\"Human element was present in 62% of breaches, a slight increase from the previous year's 60%.\" Social Engineering represented \"16% of all breaches\". Dataset of \"more than 22,000 breaches\" (22,345 breaches in the actor analysis)."},"dbir_2025":{"title":"2025 Data Breach Investigations Report","publisher":"Verizon Business","url":"https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/T1c4/reports/2025-dbir-data-breach-investigations-report.pdf","year":"2025","figure_quoted":"Human element present in 60% of breaches (n=10,798 for the component analysis); Social Engineering 22% of incident classification patterns; 12,195 confirmed data breaches analysed, \"the highest number of breaches ever analyzed in a single report\""},"worldbank_pop":{"title":"World Development Indicators: population by age group, World and United States","publisher":"World Bank","url":"https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/WLD/indicator/SP.POP.1564.TO?format=json&date=2024:2025","year":"2025","figure_quoted":"World population ages 15-64 (2025): 5,355,513,094; ages 65 and above (2025): 854,604,026; world total population (2025): 8,215,424,893. United States ages 15-64 (2025): 220,498,172; ages 65 and above (2025): 62,844,750."},"interpol_gffa":{"title":"INTERPOL financial fraud assessment: a global threat boosted by technology","publisher":"INTERPOL","url":"https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2024/INTERPOL-financial-fraud-assessment-a-global-threat-boosted-by-technology","year":"2024","figure_quoted":"\"Since the launch of INTERPOL's Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) stop-payment mechanism in 2022, the Organization has helped member countries intercept more than USD 500 million in criminal proceeds, stemming largely from cyber-enabled fraud.\" INTERPOL describes \"an epidemic in the growth of financial fraud\" but publishes no worldwide loss total, which is why no INTERPOL figure enters the derivation."},"derived":{"title":"Arithmetic derived in this file","publisher":"This methodology document","url":"https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports","year":"2026","figure_quoted":"Not a source. Marks derivation rows whose values are computed from the sourced rows above; the arithmetic is shown in full in each note field."}}}}