Texas Scam Report: What's Targeting TX and How to Fight Back
Texas residents filed 97,912 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $1.83 billion in losses — the 2nd-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting Texas, 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 Texas 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.
Texas ranks 2nd in raw complaint volume and 2nd in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 10th in complaints and 14th in losses per 100,000 residents. That per-capita rank is notably better than the raw totals suggest — Texas's big numbers are mostly a function of its big population.
Scams Targeting Texas Seniors
Texas residents aged 60 and over filed 14,410 complaints and reported $678.6 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 37% 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 Texas gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in Texas
13,965 Texas complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $1.02 billion in associated losses — about 56% 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 Texas
TxTag, EZ TAG, and TollTag smishing
Texas' patchwork of tolling systems (TxTag, EZ TAG, NTTA TollTag) gives fake “unpaid toll” texts endless cover. No Texas tolling authority collects through text-message links.
Second-biggest fraud losses in the nation
Texans lost $1.83 billion to online fraud in 2025 — second only to California — with $1.02 billion linked to cryptocurrency. Investment fraud and BEC lead the losses.
Oilfield and energy job scams
Fake Permian Basin job offers charge “certification” and “equipment” fees or harvest identities through fake onboarding. Real employers don't charge you to start work.
Military and border targeting
Fort Cavazos and JBSA communities face service-member impersonation scams, while border-region families are targeted by notario fraud and immigration-agency impersonation.
How to Report a Scam in Texas
- 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 Texas Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division. State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in Texas.
- 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 Texas residents lose to scams in 2025?
Texas residents reported $1.83 billion in losses across 97,912 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 2nd-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 Texas?
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 Texas Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division. If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older Texas residents targeted more?
Texas residents aged 60 and over filed 14,410 complaints and reported $678.6 million in losses in 2025 — about 37% of the state's reported losses. Nationally, people 60+ lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age group.
Other States in the South
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.