West Virginia Scam Report: What's Targeting WV and How to Fight Back
West Virginia residents filed 4,209 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $92.6 million in losses — the 37th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting West Virginia, 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 West Virginia 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.
West Virginia ranks 39th in raw complaint volume and 37th in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 30th in complaints and 21st in losses per 100,000 residents. That per-capita rank is significantly worse than the raw numbers suggest — West Virginia residents are being hit disproportionately hard for the state's size.
Scams Targeting West Virginia Seniors
West Virginia residents aged 60 and over filed 931 complaints and reported $19.0 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 20% 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 West Virginia gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in West Virginia
556 West Virginia complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $23.2 million in associated losses — about 25% 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 West Virginia
WV Turnpike E-ZPass texts
Fake “West Virginia Turnpike unpaid toll” texts impersonate the Turnpike's real E-ZPass system. The Parkways Authority does not collect through text links.
Elder-targeted fraud in one of the oldest states
West Virginia's aging population is heavily targeted by grandparent scams, Medicare fraud, and tech-support cons. The state's per-capita losses — $5.2 million per 100,000 residents — ranked 21st nationally in 2025, above many far larger states.
Flood-recovery and FEMA impersonation fraud
Repeated flooding disasters bring fake contractors and FEMA fee scams. FEMA never charges for applications or inspections.
How to Report a Scam in West Virginia
- 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 West Virginia Attorney General's Office. State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in West Virginia.
- 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 West Virginia residents lose to scams in 2025?
West Virginia residents reported $92.6 million in losses across 4,209 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 37th-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 West Virginia?
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 West Virginia Attorney General's Office. If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older West Virginia residents targeted more?
West Virginia residents aged 60 and over filed 931 complaints and reported $19.0 million in losses in 2025 — about 20% 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.