Impersonation scams are now four times more common than in 2020 – hardly shocking with AI making it easier than ever for scammers to impersonate just about anyone. Scammers often pretend to be government employees, most often posing as the Social Security Administration, followed by Health and Human Services and the IRS.
But which states are the most likely to be ‘fooled’ by these sneaky impostors? And which age groups are taking the biggest hits across the country?
With tax season in full swing, the firm BrokerChooser looked into official fraud reports to uncover the states and age groups most at risk of being tricked by imposters – plus the key red flags to watch for so you don’t become the next victim.
This revealed that Delawareans are the most likely to fall for imposter scams, with cases of government impostors dominating and showing the largest surge in reported cases (+349 per million residents). The data set is shown below.
States most likely to be tricked by imposters
| Rank | State | Change in government imposter reports (per million vs. 2024) | Change in business imposter reports (per million vs. 2024) | Change in family/friend imposter reports (per million vs. 2024) | % change in total imposter scam losses (vs 2024) | Total imposter scam losses (2025) | Change in total imposter reports (per million vs. 2024) | Total imposter reports per million (2025) |
| 1 | Delaware | +349 | +36 | -3 | +90.85% | $2,506,870 | +382 | 930 |
| 2 | Oregon | +243 | +53 | +2 | +237.62% | $11,084,982 | +298 | 850 |
| 3 | Colorado | +215 | +12 | -1 | +66.27% | $8,438,116 | +226 | 825 |
| 4 | Nevada | +157 | +199 | +1 | +41.59% | $6,554,857 | +357 | 813 |
| 5 | Florida | +218 | +51 | +4 | +55.63% | $41,233,955 | +273 | 779 |
| 6 | Maryland | +212 | +35 | +4 | -25.57% | $8,113,401 | +251 | 771 |
| 7 | Utah | +222 | +96 | +1 | +11.52% | $3,554,701 | +319 | 719 |
| 8 | Maine | +179 | +65 | +5 | +47.97% | $2,696,008 | +249 | 701 |
| 9 | Washington | +41 | -16 | +9 | +12.57% | $10,311,968 | +34 | 698 |
| 10 | Ohio | +242 | +46 | +5 | +42.75% | $12,191,713 | +293 | 68 |
As indicated above, Delaware takes the unwanted crown as the state most likely to fall for imposter scams, racking up a jaw-dropping 930 reports per one million people in Q3 2025 – up from 548 per million in the same period in 2024. Government impostors are the main culprits with 563 cases per million – more than half of all reports – followed by business impostors at 346 per million. Delawareans collectively lost a significant $2,506,970 to imposter scams in just three months, a 90.85% jump from 2024, leaving the average victim out of pocket b y$2,681.
The second most targeted state is Oregon, with 850 imposter reports per million – a sharp climb from 552 per million in Q3 2024. Notably, Oregonians are feeling a bigger pinch as total losses skyrocketed 237%, from $3,283,300 to $11,084,982, the fourth-largest increase across all states analysed. The average victim here lost a whopping $3,078 to imposter scams, the highest among the top ten.
Colorado ranks third most targeted, with 825 imposter scam reports per million. While government impostors made up the majority of cases, business impostors deliver the biggest financial blow, draining Coloradans of $5,041,242 in just three months – far eclipsing the $3,313,327 lost to government impostors.
Nevada lands in fourth, with 813 imposter scam cases per million – nearly double the 456 per million recorded in Q3 2024. Business impostors saw the sharpest spike, adding 199 reports per million, while family and friend impostors also caused concern, with losses nearly doubling from $235,969 in 2024 to $443,353.
Rounding out the top five is Florida, with 779 reports per million, up from 506 in 2024. Government imposters drove the biggest jump, climbing from 187 to 405 per million, while total losses hit a jaw-dropping$41,233,955, leaving the average victim $2,416 lighter in the wallet.
Seniors hit hardest: Most targeted age groups revealed
| Rank | Age Group | Imposter scam reports per million | Total imposter scam reports (2025 Q3) | Total loss to imposter scams (2025 Q3) | Average loss (2025 Q3) |
| 1 | 70 – 79 | 966 | 29,162 | $135,540,000 | $4,648 |
| 2 | 60 – 69 | 804 | 33,464 | $105,670,000 | $3,158 |
| 3 | 50 – 59 | 697 | 28,574 | $66,330,000 | $2,321 |
| 4 | 40 – 49 | 655 | 29,602 | $70,240,000 | $2,373 |
| 5 | 30 – 39 | 618 | 29,506 | $49,500,000 | $1,678 |
| 6 | 80 and over | 535 | 8,143 | $47,720,000 | $5,860 |
| 7 | 20 – 29 | 530 | 24,542 | $30,970,000 | $1,262 |
| 8 | 19 and under | 62 | 5,022 | $10,920,000 | $2,174 |
The findings further indicated that people aged 70- to 79-year-olds are the most vulnerable to imposter scams, topping the rankings with 966 reports per million people. In total, this group recorded a whopping 29,162 cases in 2025, resulting in an eye-watering $135.5 million in losses – the highest of any age group.
On average, victims in this bracket lose $4,648, second only to over-80s, who suffer the most severe individual losses at $5,860 per victim.
Younger Boomers are not immune to scams either. Those aged 60 to 69 logged 804 incidents per million people, with total losses hitting a hefty $105.7 million in just three months – more than triple the amount lost by 20- to 39-year-olds. Together, Baby Boomers aged 60 to 79 accounted for around $241.2 million – nearly half (46.6%) of all imposter scam losses across age groups ($517.9 million) – making them the biggest financial casualties of sneaky imposters.
People aged 50 to 59 rank third most at risk, with 697 reports per million people and victims losing an average of $2,321 to imposter scams.
Overall, imposter scams are spiralling across the US and the signals are getting increasingly subtle, with AI enabling scammers to mimic voices, emails and websites easily. Older persons are especially at risk, with our research showing a clear trend of scammers largely targeting retirees’ life savings. These fraudsters often pose as government officials, bank representatives or tax authorities, claiming there’s an urgent issue with your account or unpaid taxes.
