A new study shows Americans were bilked out of $1.3 billion in 2022 due to romance scams. That’s a 138% increase from the $547 million Americans lost in 2021. It was the largest single jump in the last five years.

Alabamians, however, were less likely than citizens of other states to fall victim to these scams and lost less money, the study says

Last year, Alabama had a total of 206 victims that were scammed out of $4 million, according to research from Social Catfish, which describes itself as a reverse research technology company,

The group’s ranking system put Alabama at 30th in the country, with 50th being the most unlikely to fall for romance scams. Also, $23,324 was the average amount that each Alabama victim lost – ranking the state 39th in that category.

The 10 states that lost the most money in 2022 were highly populated states, led by California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

The three main types of romance scams are celebrity scams, cryptocurrency scams, and military scams, according to Social Catfish. The group said the best way to avoid these schemes is by not sending money to unknown people and conducting a reverse image search to confirm someone’s identity.

Social Catfish developed the study using data from the FBI and Federal Trade Commission, as well as internal data from 10 million of its users.

5 Key Findings from Social Catfish:

• Most Total Money Lost: California ($158M), Texas ($60.3M), Florida ($53.4M), New York ($33.5M), and Arizona ($25.4M).
• Highest Average Loss per Victim: California ($72,239), North Dakota ($59,238), New Mexico ($57,001), Wisconsin ($53,309), and Delaware ($46,065).
• Biggest Increase in Money Lost From 2021 to 2022: Arkansas (398%), New Mexico (269%), Maine (216%), New Hampshire (155%), and West Virginia (135%).
• Crypto is the No. 1 Payment Method: Accounting for 34% of all money lost in 2022. Bank wire transfers was No. 2 at 27% and gift cards was No. 3 at 7%.
• Most Common Lie Used by Scammers: Being “sick, hurt or in jail” was the most common lie used in 24% of scams. The No. 2 lie was “I can teach you how to invest” used in 18% of scams.