2024 Study: Moving Scams Falling in the US, But Growing Costlier

Moving Scams Projected To Decline by 9% Year-Over-Year, But Costlier

According to the FMCSA's data on the first five months of this year, complaints against moving companies in 2024 are poised to decline by 9% year-over-year.That doesn't mean they don't exist. A moving scam complaint is filed with the FMCSA for 1 in every 4,000 moves in the country, and as of June 1st, 2024, the FMCSA received 2,612 complaints against moving companies. The median amount lost to a moving scam last year was $350. Thus far in 2024, the amount lost per scam is 23% higher, which is $431 per move.If the number of moving scams seems small, it's worth remembering that only a small percentage of all scams get reported to organizations like the FMCSA. How few, exactly? The current estimate is around 5%, according to an analysis by the Federal Trade Commission, and 10%, according to Better Business Bureau’s estimates.Also, most scams (like most moves) take place during the summer, which we are currently only partly through. With up to 30% of Americans planning to move this year, the final figures at the end of the year may look different.Even though moving fraud appears to be declining nationally, there are states and cities where it continues to pose a significant problem for folks looking to move.

Moving Scams by State: Up in Alabama, Down in Ohio, Most Prolific in Florida

While moving scams appear to be on a downward trend in 2024 nationally, that is unfortunately not the case in all the U.S. states and cities.

In reality, moving scams are on the rise in a fair few states. In Alabama (+106%) and North Carolina (+95%) they are rising the fastest, as they've had roughly twice as many scam complaints submitted against moving companies so far in 2024 than during the same time period last year.

Other states, where FMCSA has registered a significant uptick in the number of moving scam complaints are Colorado (+52%) and Kansas (+46%).  Also worth nothing are New Jersey (1 scam for every 442 moves), Nevada (722), and Connecticut (853). 

On the other hand, states that are seeing the greatest decrease in reported fraudulent activities are Ohio (-75%) and Arizona (-72%). Indiana (-67%), Tennessee (-59%), and New York (-53%) round off the top five states where moving scams are in decline with year-over-year decreases in fraud reports well over 50%.Another honorable mention for improvements goes to Florida — a state with a 27% decline in scam complaints about moving companies so far in 2024. Yet despite this recent reduction in scam complaints, Florida still leads the nation in how common moving scams are there; nationally, the average rate is one scam per every 4,000 moves, but Florida has one scam complaint for every 262 moves that take place in the Sunshine State.

The States With the Fewest Moving Scams

Conversely, scams are rarest in Maine (1 in 8,630 moves) and Delaware (1 in 8,590 moves). But it’s not only the less-populated states where scams are rare. In Arizona, a scam complaint is lodged for every 7,625 moves and in Texas, there’s one for every 7,055. To see how common (or rare) moving scams are in other states, check out our interactive map above.

Moving Scams by Metropolitan Area: Bigger in Birmingham, Tapering off in Tampa

First and foremost, it is important to point out that of the 37 metropolitan areas for which enough data is available, 25 are seeing moving scam complaints decline year-over-year. Sadly, that still leaves 12 where scams are on the rise.

Based on the number of scam complaints in the first five months of 2024, moving scams are rising fastest in the metro areas of Birmingham, AL (+163%), Houston, TX (+153%), and Charlotte, NC (+124%).

Echoing state findings, Denver, CO (+32%) and Las Vegas, NV (+24%) are experiencing an increase in moving scam complaints on par with their respective states.

At the same time, moving scams appear to be dropping the fastest in the Tampa, FL area (-83%) and the Seattle, WA (-80%) metropolitan area. In keeping with the state-level trend, two metros in Indiana post significant declines in moving scam complaints: Indianapolis, IN (-72%), and Fort Wayne, IN (-69%). As some metropolitan areas have low and declining rates of moving scams, in others they are exceedingly common. In Miami, FL (75) and Port St. Lucie, FL (71) metros, for example, a moving scam happens once in every 70-odd moves. That is astoundingly common, considering the average rate across the major metropolitan areas is 1 scam in 1,000 moves.Two major metropolitan areas below that average line are Las Vegas, NV and New York, NY, where scams occur once for every 668 and 784 moves, respectively.In the Houston, TX metro where scams have been increasing, they still occur once for every 15,591 moves - the rarest among all metropolitan areas, where data was available. In the Boston, MA metro only 1 in every 14,125 moves is affected by a scam, while in the Seattle, WA metro the scams-to-moves ratio is 1 to 10,661.

The Most Common Types of Moving Scams in 2024

As moving scams continue to plague certain parts of the country, what kinds of things are movers getting away with? Among the categories distinguished by the FMCSA, the following three scam complaints are the most common:

1. Estimates/Final Charges:  (18%) These complaints include movers refusing to honor a pre-agreed binding estimate, a form of payment, and/or insisting on charging more than 10% over what was agreed. 2. Deceptive Business Practices (16%) This category spans a broad range of fraud, such as false advertising, operating without or with an invalid insurance policy, companies requesting payment for services not rendered, and so on. 3. Shipment Documents (14%) Complaints in this category have to do with missing documentation, such as confirmed inventory, bill of landing, or any other documents pertaining to the move. Other fairly common causes for complaints are "Loss and Damage" (11%), "Pickup and Delivery" i.e., the “no-show” (10%), and "Claim Settlement", i.e., when moving companies refuse to settle a customer complaint or participate in arbitration (10%).It's worth noting the “Hostage Load” (i.e., moving company withholding people's possessions until a ransom is paid) category of complaints is what prompted FMCSA to launch a “national crackdown” on moving scams last year. And that looks to have worked, as only 147 such complaints have been filed so far in 2024, compared to 204 at the same time last year, amounting to a 28% decline in this type of moving scam.

Issues Around Estimates and Charges Dominate Scam Complaints in 17 States

Scams that have to do with moving cost estimates and charges are the #1 most common in a total of 17. This includes Alabama and Colorado, i.e., the states where the number of scams is increasing, as well as the nation’s biggest states in Texas, New York, and California.Deceptive businesses are most prevalent in nine states, including Florida, Virginia, and Tennessee. Loss and damage of items is the most-complained-about issue with moving in seven states including Utah, Missouri, and Kansas.In Delaware and Indiana, the top cause for complaints against movers has to do with Shipment and Documents, while claim settlement is the top issue in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.

How To Avoid Getting Scammed When Moving

To be sure, moving scams are declining. Part of the reason for this could be the FMCSA’s continued effort to crack down on fraudulent moving companies and bad actors in the industry, which was redoubled earlier this year.

Another contributing factor is is the increasing number of moves booked via established mover-vetting platforms like MovingPlace and HireAHelper. When people can comparison shop and accurately price their move before booking, they are far more protected from easy to pull off moving scams.

With all this in mind, it still pays to be vigilant when moving. Here’s what we recommend to avoid getting scammed:

• Shop around
  • 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.
• Research your mover
  • Legitimate moving companies have a website and listings on platforms like Yelp or HireAHelper. A lack of online presence or frequent name changes may indicate a suspicious company.
• Check their reviews
  • Look up what previous customer said about the mover you’re looking at and avoid companies with a history of dissatisfied customers on review-aggregating websites like Yelp and the BBB.
• Keep a detailed inventory
  • Create a detailed list of packed items and consider taking photographs. Being organized helps prevent theft and identify missing items after the move.
• Protect your most valuable possessions
  • You can get a few lockable moving boxes and properly pad fragile items to prevent tampering or theft.
• Consider getting 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 a full range of tips, please read our extended guide, read about your rights and responsibilities, and learn red flags to look out for when moving provided by the FMCSA

Sources and Methodology

All moving scam complaints data was taken from the official Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database, retrieved on June 1st 2024.

To calculate the number of moves in each state for the year 2023, we utilized the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and its Annual Social and Economic Supplements, as available via IPUMS.

Median was used to estimate the typical cost of a moving scam, as listed on the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker.

To estimate the projected total of moving complaints for 2024, an assumption was made that, given 65% of moves take place from July through December (HireAHelper’s multi-year average 2019-2023), 65% of moving scams would also occur in the same period.

For year-over-year comparisons, only states with a total of 100 and cities with a total of 50 moving complaints in 2023 and 2024 were included.

Illustrations by Heather Vaughan