US utility scam reports rose 28% in two years
Reports to the FTC in its Utilities category rose from 6,040 in 2022 to 7,729 in 2024. The count is small next to phishing or investment fraud, and it is measuring something narrower than the problem — most people who take one of these calls and hang up never report it at all.
- Year
- 2024
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Ongoing
- Victims
- 7,729
- Schemes
- Utility shut-off scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-06
The facts, as recorded
- US consumer reports in the FTC's Utilities category: 6,040 in 2022, 7,612 in 2023 and 7,729 in 2024.
- That is a 28% rise across two years, with most of the increase between 2022 and 2023.
- The category records complaints about utility services and the impersonation of utility companies.
- The FTC does not publish a separate loss total or median for the Utilities category in its 2024 Data Book.
- For context, the same Data Book records 383,441 online shopping reports and 78,763 health care reports in 2024.
- The FTC states in its Data Book that the vast majority of frauds are never reported.
Why this case matters
7,729 reports is a small number on this site. Online shopping generated 383,441 in the same year.
We are publishing it anyway, and being explicit about why: it is almost certainly the least representative figure in our data, and understanding why tells you something about the scheme.
What the number counts
| Year | Reports |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 6,040 |
| 2023 | 7,612 |
| 2024 | 7,729 |
A 28% rise in two years, nearly all of it between 2022 and 2023.
The FTC does not publish a loss total or a median for this category in its 2024 Data Book, so we do not have one to give.
Why it undercounts more than most
Three reasons, and they compound.
Most of these calls fail, and failures are not reported. Someone who receives a shut-off threat, hangs up, calls the number on their bill and learns their account is fine has not lost anything. Almost nobody files a report about a call that did not work — which means the count reflects successes far more than attempts.
The successes are often small. A few hundred dollars in gift cards is beneath the threshold at which most people take action, and above the threshold at which most people feel foolish.
And the category is ambiguous. A person who paid a fake utility bill with gift cards may report it as a gift card scam, an imposter scam, or a phone scam. The FTC’s Utilities category is defined by subject matter, and victims file by what happened to them.
What to use it for
Not for scale. Use it for direction: reports rose, and the rise is concentrated in a single year.
And use it as a reminder about every other number on this site. The FTC’s own Data Book says the vast majority of frauds are never reported. That is true everywhere, and it is more true here than almost anywhere.
Sources
- Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024. US Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 2026-09-06. Supports: The Utilities report counts for 2022, 2023 and 2024, the comparison categories, and the under-reporting statement.
- Scammers Pretend To Be Your Utility Company. US Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. Accessed 2026-09-06. Supports: The conduct the category records.