--- title: 'This Is the Most Common Text Scam in 47 States: Don''t Fall for It' description: 'In nearly every state, fraudsters are using the same trap to steal your money: fake investment opportunities.' authors: - name: Gabriel O. Rodriguez Cruz role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/gabriel-rodriguez/ bio: Gabriel Rodríguez is an editor at Money who has been writing and editing crypto content for over five years. His goal is to make crypto less cryptic, helping newcomers avoid common pitfalls and scams present in the industry. education: University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras at_money_since: 2018 articles: 106 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Economy and Politics - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-rodriguez-cruz/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 454 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-10-12T12:26:14.000Z' section: Investing tags: - News word_count: 851 canonical: https://money.com/investment-scam-texts-most-common-states/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Scam and phone](https://img.money.com/2026/10/News-Scam-investment-text.jpg) Depending on where you live in the U.S., the scam texts flooding your phone may come with an assortment of offers. But in nearly every state, fraudsters are using the same trap to steal your money: fake investment opportunities. A [recent analysis](https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/security-news/most-common-scams-in-all-50-states/) from cybersecurity company McAfee found that investment and cryptocurrency scams are the most common type of fraudulent text message in 47 states. (Michigan, Maine and North Dakota were the only exceptions.) Investment scams don’t always start with an obvious pitch to buy the next hot stock or crypto. They are often sneakier, appearing like a supposed expert inviting you to join a financial advice group or a stranger who claims to have reached the wrong number. But over time, the conversation inevitably turns toward an investment opportunity or a [request for money](https://money.com/online-money-transfer-scams/). Abhishek Karnik, head of threat research at McAfee, says this is the typical playbook for scammers. "It usually starts with a simple text message," he says. "Very soon, you notice that the conversation has moved to WhatsApp or Telegram or some other platform which they know cannot be monitored as well." That's when the fraudster brings up a once-in-a-lifetime deal they claim that, if missed, "could be the biggest mistake that you ever make." ## Why investment scams dominate across state lines Part of the reason why investment scams have become so widespread is that they combine convincing social engineering with easy-to-exploit payment methods. "Any time you use crypto, any time you use a gift card \[for\] payment ... or \[do\] some sort of a debit-related transaction, the chances of you recovering that money is almost nil," Karnik says. "With crypto ... you can't even trace which country it went to." Because of this, the payoff for scammers can be enormous. According to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, Americans reported [losing more than $7.9 billion](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/03/ftc-testifies-joint-economic-committee-agencys-efforts-combat-fraud) to investment scams in 2025 — more than any other fraud category. The median loss exceeded $10,000. The Better Business Bureau also found investment fraud to be particularly damaging. Investment and cryptocurrency scams were the [riskiest scam type](https://bbbmarketplacetrust.org/RiskReport/) reported to the organization in 2025, with more than 77% of people targeted claiming a financial loss. Artificial intelligence is only making this type of scam more dangerous. Fraudulent messages can now be generated quickly in multiple languages and tailored to sound extremely convincing, which makes it easier for fraudsters to run the same basic scheme on consumers across the country instead of crafting campaigns one victim at a time. ## Some states still see much more scam activity than others Investment scams may dominate almost everywhere, but all Americans aren't encountering fraudulent messages at the same rate. McAfee found that Alabama had the highest number of scam texts per device, followed by Georgia and Mississippi. [Other fraud data](https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/FraudandIDTheftMaps/AllReportsbyState) shows some overlap. Through the first half of 2026, the FTC had Nevada tied for first and Georgia ranked fourth nationwide for fraud reports per capita, with 604 and 547 reports per 100,000 residents, respectively. The datasets measure different things: McAfee tracks fraudulent texts detected on devices, while the FTC figures cover consumer fraud reports in general. But at least some states where Americans are receiving large volumes of suspicious texts are also reporting high levels of fraud overall. Why people in one state get hit harder than those in another is less straightforward. Karnik says scammers may target certain demographics or regions, but differences "really depends on what data was made available to them." A stolen database could simply contain contact information for large numbers of people from a particular state, allowing criminals to focus their campaigns accordingly. "Scammers — especially in telecom — like to call you with a number from the same region that you're at," says Ron Kerbs, founder and CEO of AI voice-fraud detection company Kidas. He adds that fraudsters capitalize on events happening in a specific area, like local elections or sporting events. ## How to protect yourself from financial scam texts As investment scams become more pervasive, it's key to focus less on whether a message looks legitimate and more on whether you can confirm who is behind it. Kerbs says that if someone contacts you claiming to represent a bank, investment firm or other financial institution, you should end the conversation and verify their identity though another channel, like a phone number printed on a bank card or statement. Offers that promise unusually high or guaranteed returns should also be treated as a major red flag — legitimate investments always involve risk. Avoid clicking any links or using contact information provided in an unexpected text message. And perhaps most importantly, an investment opportunity shouldn’t appear more trustworthy simply because the person pitching it has spent days or weeks building a relationship with you first. Karnik says to keep a close eye on the warning signs, since they tend to appear one after the other: an out-of-the-blue text, a back and forth that moves to a private messaging app and the sudden pressure to invest quickly. 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