‘What a fool I was’: Reported scams reach record high of $15.9 billion, and estimates reach upwards of $500 billion annually

When Simon’s wife of 43 years passed away, it felt a bit like he’d died too.

In his overwhelming grief, Simon sought companionship online, like so many other lonely widows and widowers.

Almost immediately he met Emily.

But over the next few months, Emily, who Simon realized too late was a fake, stole $800,000 from him.

And that was just the beginning.

Simon was stuck paying back $185,000 he had borrowed, and tens of thousands of dollars in additional taxes on money he had withdrawn and lost.

He tried to report the crime to his local police and the FBI, he said, but nothing came of it.

Instead, he was contacted by yet another scammer — offering to connect him with the Secret Service to recoup his losses in exchange for even more money.

Like Simon, virtually every American has been targeted by scammers in some way, exclusive new polling data shows .

Scams in the U.S. have surged to a record high, causing billions in losses for Americans .

But the U.S. still lags behind some other countries in tackling the problem, holding financial and social media companies responsible and regulating the cryptocurrency scammers rely on, an investigation by The Associated Press and FRONTLINE found.

And although both the Trump administration and Congress are pursuing new options, victims still have little recourse and sometimes end up losing even more.

In interviews with almost five dozen victims, AP and FRONTLINE found that many faced ridicule and stigma from friends and family, mounting pressure from banks and lenders, additional taxes, dismissive law enforcement and neglect from a government they believed would protect them.

“What happens after the scam might even be worse than the scam itself,” said Erin West, a former prosecutor and founder of the nonprofit Operation Shamrock that provides support for victims of online scams.