Illinois Scam Report: What's Targeting IL and How to Fight Back
Illinois residents filed 32,977 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $535.3 million in losses — the 8th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting Illinois, and exactly where to report one.
Reviewed by the Cautellus team · Last updated July 2026
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report. These are reported figures — the FBI estimates most victims never file, so real losses run far higher.
How Illinois Compares
Nationally, Americans filed 1,008,597 complaints and reported $20.877 billion in losses in 2025 — up 26% from the year before, with an average loss of $20,699 per complaint.
Illinois ranks 5th in raw complaint volume and 8th in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 26th in complaints and 31st in losses per 100,000 residents. That per-capita rank is notably better than the raw totals suggest — Illinois's big numbers are mostly a function of its big population.
Scams Targeting Illinois Seniors
Illinois residents aged 60 and over filed 7,701 complaints and reported $189.5 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 35% of everything lost in the state. Nationally, the 60+ age group lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age bracket, led by investment fraud, tech-support scams, and romance scams.
If a parent or grandparent in Illinois gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in Illinois
4,910 Illinois complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $257.9 million in associated losses — about 48% of the state's reported total. Most of it is investment fraud: “pig butchering” schemes that start with a friendly message on social media, a dating app, or a wrong-number text, and end at a fake trading platform that won't let you withdraw. Crypto ATM payment demands — for “bail,” “back taxes,” or “securing your account” — are the other major pattern. No legitimate business or government agency takes payment through a crypto ATM.
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Scan Now — It's FreeScam Patterns Hitting Illinois
I-PASS toll smishing
Fake Illinois Tollway/I-PASS texts demanding small “unpaid toll” payments are among the most-reported scams statewide. The Tollway explicitly warns it never requests payment by text.
Chicago-hub business email compromise
Corporate payment fraud — spoofed vendors, diverted payroll, fake executive wire requests — drives a large share of Illinois' $535 million in 2025 losses.
Utility shutoff threats
Callers impersonating ComEd and Peoples Gas threaten same-day disconnection unless paid by gift card or crypto ATM. Real utilities send multiple written notices and never take gift cards.
How to Report a Scam in Illinois
- 1If money moved, call your bank first. Ask for the fraud department and request a recall or reversal. Minutes matter more than anything else on this list.
- 2File with the FBI at ic3.gov. Fast reports give the FBI's Recovery Asset Team a chance to freeze wire transfers — and your complaint becomes part of the same dataset this page is built on.
- 3Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. FTC reports feed the Consumer Sentinel network used by law enforcement nationwide.
- 4File with the Illinois Attorney General's Office. State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in Illinois.
- 5Warn the next person. Share what happened on Cautellus so the phone number, website, or username gets flagged for everyone else who searches it.
FAQs
How much money did Illinois residents lose to scams in 2025?
Illinois residents reported $535.3 million in losses across 32,977 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 8th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Actual losses are higher, since most scams are never reported.
How do I report a scam in Illinois?
File with the FBI at ic3.gov (especially if you lost money — fast reporting helps the FBI's Recovery Asset Team attempt to freeze transfers), report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Office. If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older Illinois residents targeted more?
Illinois residents aged 60 and over filed 7,701 complaints and reported $189.5 million in losses in 2025 — about 35% of the state's reported losses. Nationally, people 60+ lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age group.
Other States in the Midwest
Before You Pay, Click, or Reply
Every scam pattern on this page shares one weakness: it falls apart under a second opinion. If a text, email, link, or phone number feels off, run it through the Cautellus scanner before you act — it checks against 10,000+ confirmed scam entities aggregated from Reddit, FBI IC3, FTC, and global phishing databases, refreshed every 6 hours.
Think you've received a scam?
Paste a suspicious message, email, or URL into our free AI scanner for instant analysis.
Scan Now — It's FreeSources: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report — state complaint, loss, per-capita, 60+, and cryptocurrency tables.