Scumshine State: Florida Has Second-Highest Fraud Rate in U.S.

Welcome to the Scumshine State, where fraud flourishes.

August 1, 2024

Florida and Georgia are swindle capitals of the United States. Photo by LIgorko/Getty Images

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The Sunshine State is no longer the fraud capital of the U.S. The title now belongs to its neighbor to the north — Georgia.

However, don't celebrate just yet. Florida has not shed its shady reputation and scammer tendencies.

According to a new study conducted by injury lawyers Bader Scott, Florida is now the second-worst state for fraud in the nation. For its methodology, the law firm analyzed the number of fraud cases per capita in each state based on data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) between April 2023 and March 2024.

During that period, there were more than 359,000 incidents of fraud reported in Florida, equating to 1,589 cases per 100,000 residents, the FTC data showed. From January 2024 through March 2024 alone, scammers have taken $171 million from unsuspecting residents in the state.

Georgia leads the pack with 1,605 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the study. The Peach State had more than 177,000 cases of fraud during the reporting period.

On the other end of the spectrum, South Dakota had the lowest rate of fraud reports with only 572 cases for every 100,000 residents. From the second quarter of 2023 through the first quarter of 2024, South Dakota reported a mere 5,258 scams.

The FTC found that the most prevalent schemes were imposter fraud, online shopping and negative review scams, as well as prize, investment, and business fraud. The FTC reported that $10 billion was lost based on 2.6 million fraud reports in 2023.

High-profile fraud cases have a deep history here in South Florida, with everyone from elected officials and their family members to the average-joe scammers to the sister of a professional basketball player allegedly dipping their toes in some sort of fraud scheme. And we can't forget that time Miami-Dade County hired a convicted contract scammer to oversee county contracts.

In South Florida and other areas where the population of older residents is high, romance scams have been running rampant. Last month, a Miami woman was arrested and charged with scamming $7 million from more than a dozen elderly men as part of a 15-year-long romance scam.

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Naomi Feinstein is a staff writer of Miami New Times where she primarily focuses on news. Naomi started her career with New Times as an intern from June–August 2019, then worked as a fellow from August 2022 to February 2023 before joining the staff full-time. She graduated from University of Miami where she contributed to the student-run newspaper, The Miami Hurricane. She holds a master’s degree and graduated with honors from the Columbia School of Journalism. In 2021, Naomi was recognized as the College Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists of Florida, and she placed second for Best General News Story in the 2021 Pinnacle Awards.

Contact: Naomi Feinstein

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