2023 Study: Moving Scams Up 12% Over Last Year

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Key Findings

  • In 2023, 12% more moving scam reports have been filed with Better Business Bureau compared to last year
  • After a dip in 2022, complaints about moving companies are set to grow 35% year-over-year by the end of 2023
  • The financial toll of moving scams is projected to reach $1.59 million in 2023, 42% above last year’s total
  • Consumers lost an average of $836 to moving scams in 2023, 7% more than in 2022
  • Moving scams are most common in Wyoming (one in every 4,426 moves) and least common in Texas (one in every 41,410 moves)

Moving scams may have dipped in 2022, following their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic years. But according to the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker, they are on track to increase 35% year-over-year.

In response to this trend, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched an operation called Protect Your Move in April of this year. This is timely, as our data indicates almost half (45%) of all the moves in any given year take place from May through August.

As we’re currently within the period that we in the business call “the moving season,” let’s look at the latest trends in moving scams, review which scams are the most common in 2023, and where these scams are most likely to happen to you.


Mover Beware: Moving Fraud on the Rise Again in 2023

After surging steadily through the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020-2021, the number of moving scam reports fell by 60% in 2022, according to our analysis of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) figures. 

This positive trend is unlikely to continue this year, as 12% more scam reports have been submitted to the BBB’s Scam Tracker in the first five months of 2023, compared to the same period last year. And that’s before moving season (i.e., the three months of the summer when the demand for moving services and total moves usually peak).

At this rate, the total number of reported moving scams in 2023 is projected to be 194, some 35% higher than last year

That number would still be lower than what we’ve seen during the pandemic, but significantly higher than in any other non-pandemic year since 2016.


Hidden Costs: The Ongoing Financial Toll of Moving Scams

As if the increase in moving fraud wasn’t enough, the average amount U.S. consumers are reporting as lost to scammers is also increasing. In 2022, the average amount claimed to have been lost to scammers was $784. In 2023 so far, moving fraud in the United States averages $836 of loss, which is 7% higher than last year.

 

“What’s new this year is incidents of no-show (26%) and mover fraud (24%) have increased. Combined, they now account for 50% (up from 40% last year) of moving scams reported to the BBB.”

 

It’s worth mentioning that this increase isn’t just down to the average number being skewed by a few exorbitantly costly scams. The median amount lost to a moving scam in 2023 so far is $260. That figure is substantially higher than last year’s $190.

And what about the total financial toll of moving scams? Incorporating the latest BBB Scam Tracker figures, it currently sits at around $2.2 million per year, which is a figure extrapolated from the assumption that only 10% of fraud incidents get reported.

As moving fraud is estimated to rise in 2023, so is its financial toll. In the first five months of this year, American consumers already lost an estimated $543,000, which is 42% more than moving scams claimed over the same period in 2022.

If the current trend continues, the total amount lost to moving scams could reach $1.5 million by the end of the year.


Widespread in Wyoming, Costliest in Kansas: Moving Scams by State

Based on the most recent figures on moving scams and the number of people moving in each state, Wyoming comes out as the state where the ratio of moves to scams is the lowest. One scam is reported for every 4,426 moves that take place in Wyoming.

In second and third place on this unfortunate ranking are Vermont (one scam per 6,548 moves) and South Dakota (one scam per 6,783 moves). 

Elsewhere, all three states on the west coast of the U.S. — Oregon, Washington, and California — feature among the 10 states where moving fraud is most pervasive.

State Moves Per Scam
Wyoming 4,426
Vermont 6,548
South Dakota 6,783
Oregon 6,867
Minnesota 7,262
Colorado 8,488
Arizona 9,408
Connecticut 9,634
Washington 9,736
California 10,152
State Moves Per Scam
Texas 41,410
Idaho 30,933
Oklahoma 28,578
Nevada 28,419
Kansas 24,155
Kentucky 22,307
Massachusetts 22,185
Mississippi 21,966
Louisiana 21,074
Tennessee 21,050

In Texas on the other hand, moving scams are rarest, where scams affect one in every 41,410 moves. This is rather impressive, considering Texas is the state with the second-highest number of people moving (with the highest being in California).

Idaho is the second-safest state for moving scams, hosting an impressive 30,933 moves per single scam. Oklahoma and Nevada register one scam in around 28,000 moves, while in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee, the scams-to-moves ratio raises to around one in 21,000.

Dollars Lost Per State

an illustration of cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other. They're worn and dirty, and red eyes are peeking out of the handles, to invoke a tangible image of a moving scam lurking. As far as the financial toll is concerned, moving scams average the most financial damage in Kansas, where the average amount lost is $2,700.

Nevada ($2,435) and Alabama ($2,325) are close behind and, together with Kansas, are the only three states where the average financial loss from a moving scam averages higher than $2,000

Other states with some of the highest average financial losses include New Jersey ($1,677), California ($1,210) and Florida ($1,001).

Conversely, in some states, moving fraud barely registers financially. For example, Idaho ($45), Massachusetts ($43) and Wisconsin ($40) all average less than $50 lost per moving scam so far this year.

Check out the interactive map below to see the average amount people lose to moving scams in your state.

Scam Tactics: Most Pervasive Moving Scams in America

Similar to last year’s findings, the most common type of moving scam reported to the BBB is the change of address scam.

Using this trick, perpetrators trick people who have recently moved into paying a fee (usually around $99.95 or more) for changing their address. Victims are directed to a website disguised to appear as a website from the United States Postal Service (USPS). This scam accounts for 31% of scams reported, down from 37% last year.

Not showing up

What’s new this year is incidents of no-shows (26%) and mover fraud (24%) have increased. Combined, they now account for 50% (up from 40% last year) of moving scams reported to the BBB.

A no-show is a scam where a moving company asks someone for a deposit or some form of an upfront fee, that fee is paid, and then no movers show up on the day of the move. Most frequently, that so-called moving company is unreachable afterward.

Here’s a description of one such scam reported to the BBB by someone who fell victim to it this year:

“Contacted movers to move my son. They said I would need to Zelle them with the deposit ($561.00) which I did. Moving day came and they contacted me and said they were running late. I was ghosted after that! No move was performed by this company.”

Mover fraud is a category of scams that includes fake moving companies posing as real moving businesses that at best are operating without a license, or, in the worst of cases, take people’s possessions until a ransom is paid (otherwise known as a “hostage load”).

It was specifically the increase in “complaints of movers holding household possessions hostage to extort exorbitant additional charges from consumers” that prompted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to launch a crackdown on hostage loads in April of this year. 

The other 19% of scams couldn’t be placed in a single category, and include a mixture of things like suspicious movers failing to adhere to the terms of the contract, overcharging, giving customers discounts for positive reviews, and more.


More Moving, More Problems: Why Moving Scams are Spiking in 2023

Why are the scams spiking in 2023? Based on our analysis, the reason behind the recent rise in this type of fraud is twofold. 

Firstly, more people are moving. A recent Census Bureau’s Residential Home Sales report shows a 15% year-over-year jump in residential home sales in April 2023. Elsewhere, recent figures show a spike in new home sales. By contrast, 2022 was the year when home sales declined continually and sharply

Housing is one of the top reasons why people move, so it’s likely that more scams occur because there is a greater demand for moving services and, therefore, a greater likelihood to encounter scammers.

 

“In 2023 so far, moving fraud in the United States averages $836 of loss, which is 7% higher than last year.”

 

The second reason has to do with the high susceptibility of consumers to moving scams. The BBB defines susceptibility as “the percentage of consumers who reported losing money when exposed to a scam”. By this metric, moving scams are among the most dangerous, with 66% of them resulting in financial loss. That’s second only to online shopping!

With such a high rate of financial damage, moving scams are more likely to be reported, as consumers attempt to do all they can to reclaim what they’ve lost and warn others of potential fraudsters.

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Moving Safely and Soundly: How To Not Get Scammed When Moving

To help you avoid getting scammed while moving, we have put together these tips.

  • Compare multiple quotes to avoid scams and ensure a good deal. Beware of significantly lower or higher quotes, lack of concrete details, absence of written contracts, and excessive down-payments.
  • Check out the company’s online presence. Legitimate moving companies have a website and listings on legitimate platforms like Yelp or HireAHelper. A lack of online presence or frequent name changes may indicate a suspicious company.
  • Look up verified customer reviews. Check past customer reviews and avoid companies with a history of dissatisfied customers on review-aggregating websites like Yelp and the BBB.
  • Keep a detailed inventory of your possessions. Create a detailed list of packed items and consider taking photographs. Being organized helps prevent theft and identify missing items after the move.
  • Lock up your most expensive valuables. Use lockable moving boxes and properly pad fragile items to prevent tampering or theft.
  • Consider buying moving insurance. Moving insurance can protect against financial losses due to damaged or lost items. Third-party insurance is recommended in case of fraudulent moving companies.

For more information on moving scams, and how to protect yourself from fraudulent movers, please read our extended guide.

See how prolific and costly scams are in each state with our interactive table below.

Sources & Methodology
To calculate the number of moving scams and the associated dollar amount lost we utilized the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker. For topical analysis of scams, we used Structural Topic Modeling on written descriptions of scams to derive their key themes.
To calculate the number of moves in each state for the year 2023, we utilized the U.S. Census Bureau’s Migration/Geographic Mobility Data series.

Illustrations by Heather Vaughan

2021 Study: Are They Real? The Truth about Moving Scams

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Key Findings

  • A total of 230 moving scams were reported to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 2020, which is 91% higher than reported in the previous year (130)
  • Americans lost up to $2 million to moving scams last year, according to the estimates from the BBB
  • As many as 148 moving scams are already filed in 2021, twice as many as were reported by the same time last year
  • Only an estimated 10% of moving scams are reported, meaning the real figure of moving scams is likely in the thousands
  • Roughly 1 in 13,000 moves in 2020 were affected by a scam, which is about as likely getting struck by lightning in your lifetime
  • Alaska, Oregon, and Montana are the worst states for moving scams (1 scam for around every 6,000 moves or fewer)
  • Utah and Missouri are the states least affected by scams (1 scam for around every 30,000 moves or greater)

 

Any scam you ever encounter or, even worse, fall for is a real bummer… to say the least. The Federal Trade Commission received 2.2 million fraud and scam reports in 2020 alone, with an estimated total of $3.3 billion lost to fraudsters. The majority of scams reported revolve around tactics like identity theft, credit card fraud, and suspect online shopping.

And though it pains us to admit it, the moving industry isn’t scam-free either. Suspect movers with hidden fees, contracts written in bad faith, and exorbitant deposits abound.

In this analysis, we zoom in on these moving scams to examine their prevalence in the industry, tally up the amount of money Americans lose to moving fraud each year, then see if the situation has changed much over the last few years (and explain what you can do to fight it).

What Exactly Are Moving Scams?

There are a wide variety of fly-by-night tactics that are more typical of those flyers you see on telephone poles, as well as Craigslist ads. Typical scams in the moving industry include (but aren’t limited to) situations where moving companies:

  • Hold your possessions “hostage” and refuse to deliver them unless you pay them a ridiculous amount of money
  • Change company names to avoid associations with previous scams 
  • Don’t mention additional fees, then charge them
  • Charge premium insurance by default
  • “Lose” valuable items and refuse to investigate or explain the loss
  • Don’t show up after they receive a deposit
  • Provide blanket estimates without asking to evaluate the size of your move

A Worrying Trend? Moving Scams up 91%, Year-Over-Year

Looking at the figures from Scam Tracker—a Better Business Bureau (BBB) analysis tool which allows people to report and track scams and fraudulent behavior they experience within the U.S. and Canada—it appears moving scams are largely on the rise.

Some 230 moving scams were reported in 2020 alone, which is 91% more than the number of scams filed with the BBB in the previous year. And so far in 2021, the number of scam reports has already reached 148, despite us only being halfway through the year. That’s higher than the total number filed by Americans in all of 2019 (121).

Partially, we can chalk up the rise in scam reports to the rising popularity of the BBB’s website and its initiatives, but it would be unreasonable to wholeheartedly deny the fact that scams are becoming more prolific.

Considering millions of people move in the United States every year, 230 scams a year doesn’t seem like such a high number. (And it isn’t, in scale.) However, citing the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau suggests that only about 10% of scams are reported.

With that percentage in mind, we can estimate that a more realistic number of moving scams last year is an estimated 2,300, while the number of scams in 2021 at the halfway point is currently estimated to be around 1,500.

Hidden Figures: Americans Lost up to $2 Million to Moving Scams Last Year

moving scamThe total number of scams alone doesn’t tell us much about the impact they might have on people who fall victims to various kinds of moving fraud. Another way to gain an understanding of a moving scammer’s impact is to look at the amount of money lost to moving scams over the years.

 

“…the Better Business Bureau suggests that only about 10% of scams are reported.”

 

Based on Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker, the reported amount lost to moving scams in 2020 was $207,000 and about $114,000 so far in 2021. 

Bearing in mind the high potential for scams going unreported, we can estimate that the amount lost to moving scams is in the region of $1.1 million during the first six months of 2021, and $2 million in 2020.

In that regard, the financial impact of moving scams seems to at least be in slight decline from the peak of $3.2 million lost in 2018 (when accounting for underreported scams). 

As Likely as Being Struck by Lightning: How Common Moving Scams Really Are

The rise of moving scams and the potential millions of dollars lost to scammers in the moving industry is, by all means, a concerning trend. But if we look at the number of moving scams relative to the number of moves taking place in the United States each year, it’s true that moving scams are rather rare.

 

“Moving scammers are most common in the Western and Northern ends of the United States, with the states Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado all having the worst moves to scams ratio.”

 

Even if we take into account the fact that 90% of moving scams go unreported, the data suggests that only 1 in 15,000 moves that took place in the U.S. last year were afflicted by scams. For the sake of using a famous comparison, your chances of getting struck by lightning over the course of your lifetime are 1 in 15,300.

Where Are Moving Scams Most Common?

Still, rare as they might be, moving scams are actually more prevalent in certain states than others. Moving scammers are most common in the Western and Northern ends of the United States, with the states Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado all having the worst moves to scams ratio. 

On the other side of the scale, moves in states like Utah and Missouri were the least prone to scams, in that the ratio of moves to scams in these states is greater than 30,000 to 1.

State Moves Per Scam State Moves Per Scam
Alaska 3,494 Utah 37,931
Oregon 4,040 Missouri 32,941
Montana 5,963 Connecticut 26,370
Washington 6,077 Virginia 25,594
Wyoming 6,186 Wisconsin 23,544
Colorado 6,353 Tennessee 22,108
Pennsylvania 7,527 Louisiana 21,837
Minnesota 7,997 Texas 20,926
North Dakota 8,375 Idaho 19,481
Nebraska 8,945 Oklahoma 19,364

To get the details on the number of moves and moving scams in each state, check our map below, where we’ve assembled the data for the year 2020, the last full year for available data.


Moving scams are a nightmare for consumers and a source of great shame for the moving industry. The number of scams does appear to be on the rise, with a recent BBB report highlighting the suspiciously high levels of fraudulent activity since the start of the pandemic.

We may never know the true extent of the problem, but at HireAHelper, we make sure fraudulent movers cannot exist on our vetted platform of over 2,000 Moving Service Providers across the United States. All HireAHelper moves come with a $1,000 Safety Guarantee, industry-leading customer service, and verification of every single mover review. Nobody deserves to have their life stolen from them, least of all when they are at their most vulnerable. Moving day is tough enough!

If you feel like you may be a victim of moving scams, here’s what you might be able to do to get your life back on track.

Sources and Methodology
The number of moving scams and the associated dollar amount lost was taken from Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker. The number of moves in each state for the year 2020 was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Illustrations by Heather Vaughan

What to Do When Movers Break, Steal or Won’t Give Back Your Stuff

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At HireAHelper, we hear other people’s stories of bad movers all the time.

Whether these stories come to us through emails or from customers calling us after a moving company has wronged them, these same cries come up time and again: “All my stuff is missing,” or “All my stuff is damaged,” or even worse, “My movers are holding my stuff for ransom!”

There’s one word we always hear from these customers-turned-victims: “helpless”.

In these situations, it’s painfully clear: these movers aren’t playing by the rules. But what recourse do you actually have when your movers refuse to pay for damages, replace missing items, or opt to not deliver your stuff unless you fork over another thousand bucks?

Unprofessional movers get away with a lot of crap. That’s the unfortunate truth. But if you believe your movers have acted illegally and they aren’t taking responsibility, there are ways to fight back.

Here are four options you should immediately explore.

Alert your state’s Consumer Affairs Division.

Not only can investigators help you resolve your complaint about broken items or track down your stuff – or your movers – but they may also work with law enforcement authorities in getting unlicensed, unethical and illegal movers off the streets, just as they have in New Jersey. From New Jersey’s official website:

“Horror stories about predatory movers are all too common. By its very nature, the moving industry touches the lives of consumer when they are vulnerable and when they must rely on strangers to transport their valued possessions,” Acting Attorney General Hoffman said. “These situations create the potential for abuse. We are enforcing New Jersey’s licensing laws in order to protect consumers and, just as importantly, to ensure a level playing field for New Jersey’s many honest and licensed moving companies.”

Movers must usually be licensed with the state. (Here’s a list to check your’s.) If they are doing moves across state lines, they must additionally be licensed by the federal government. Cross-checking this with your Consumer Affairs Division is a quick way to begin the resolution process. Get ahold of Consumer Affairs Division in your state via this directory, which is a government-run database with the corresponding phone number, website and/or email address of your local division’s office.

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If this was an interstate move, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) can also get involved. How they can help, along with the info and links you need, can be found on their Protect Your Move page. Their toll-free hotline is 1-888-368-7238.

Call your local police.

In the past, there was not much local law enforcement could do in disputes between moving companies and customers due to the fact such disputes are civil and not yet criminal matters. But recent changes in some states’ laws have given those local authorities the power to mediate; In particular, some laws now intervene when a moving company is sitting outside a customer’s home demanding more money before they unload.

Just this year, Arizona passed House Bill 2145which in Arizona requires moving companies to unload customers’ belongings in case of a dispute regarding payment on an intrastate move. We’d hope that this would be standard lawful procedure across the country, but sadly not all states are up to speed on this loophole.

But regardless of civil versus criminal matters, a mover being properly licensed is something the police can act on. Knowledge is power – but only if it is used! 

Get in touch with MoveRescue.

This organization can assist you by obtaining information on your move, advising you as to your options and, in some hostage situations, working with the moving company to get your goods released. Plus, they’re vetted by United and Mayflower, two of the larger Full-Service moving companies in the industry. 

From their website:

Approximately 1.6 million Americans hire interstate household goods movers each year. Unfortunately, a reported 3,000 cases of possible mover fraud occur annually. Many of these cases involve criminals who offer low estimates and then hold customers’ possessions hostage in undisclosed warehouses, demand thousands of dollars in additional payments and threaten auction. MoveRescue is devoted to ending this problem by seeing that moving companies abide by the federal consumer protection regulations.

Move Rescue does offer a disclaimer that they cannot offer immediate and complete assistance to everyone who calls. Call them anyway: 800-832-1773.

Contact your local news.

More often than not, whenever we do hear of a customer finally getting their belongings delivered it was because they sought the help of a local news station. In this case, the victim had refused to pay her movers what amounted to extortion, and the movers drove off with her stuff. The victim then contacted a local news station and their consumer reporter got the recovery ball rolling by calling the FMCSA, who got right to work. From WFTV9:

“Every day I don’t have my stuff, I can’t work, it’s put me farther and farther behind,” said Smith as she fought back tears.

Todd Ulrich contacted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that oversees interstate moves.

After federal regulators reviewed the company’s estimates, and the final bill, the agency took action. It ordered the company to honor the $1,200 estimate and return her belongings or face a possible $10,000 fine.

“They felt there was negligence, and generally they were out of compliance,” said Smith

A week later the mover released the storage unit address and key.

Smith took a huge step toward starting her new life in Winter Park.

“I don’t believe I would have gotten here this quickly without your intervention, so I appreciate it,” she said.

Understand that the process took weeks, not minutes. If you find yourself the victim of a bad bunch of movers, you may also need weeks, or even months, to get the situation resolved. So before you find yourself a victim, protect yourself by doing your homework on any moving company you contact. This list of recommendations by the Illinois Movers’ and Warehousemen’s Association covers everything you need to know and do before you hire a mover.

Or to likely avoid any of this …

It’s harder to tend to these issues after they’ve already happened, which is why we built HireAHelper around holding movers accountable from the get-go; movers on our national database live and die by their reviews. Our sister company Moving Place  can also take care of planning and executing your whole long distance move at reasonable price and with every security protocol in place.  We also work seven days a week to take care of any potential claims, or if something drastic happens, to find replacement movers as soon as possible (often for the same day).

Small claims court, calling the police or filing reports take a long time. Booking a vetted mover through a marketplace is much safer because even if something goes wrong, we work with you to fix it.

We believe it’s important to keep movers accountable, so you don’t have to.

As for opting to work directly with moving companies, you can help others from falling victim to the same irresponsible, illegal movers by writing an online review (which might more accurately be called an online warning), informing the Better Business Bureau of your situation, and filing a complaint with your state authorities as well as the FMCSA. These governmental agencies don’t usually have the resources to go after every moving company that pulls a fast one (sad but true), but if the complaints on a company start piling up there’s a chance that company will have the hammer of the law come down on them.

And that’s really all we want.

That, and getting all our stuff back, undamaged, on time and at cost. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.


Illustrations by Nicole Miles

The (Un-Criminal) World of Hostage-Taking Movers

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[Synopsis: Fraud and deception runs rampant in our industry. Why isn’t more being done?]

We bust our butts to do our jobs well, to treat our customers right and give our industry a good name. But we still hear about swindles, scams and those customers standing out in their own driveway facing a hostage situation. To those lucky enough to not know what I mean…

Hostage situation:  A mover has your stuff and won’t give it back but under certain conditions.

How do these guys get away with it? They’re relentless. (And almost as successful as the fraudsters running that Nigerian Prince e-mail scheme.)

(more…)

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