Wisconsin Scam Report: What's Targeting WI and How to Fight Back
Wisconsin residents filed 16,680 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $194.2 million in losses — the 26th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting Wisconsin, 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 Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin ranks 19th in raw complaint volume and 26th in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 19th in complaints and 45th in losses per 100,000 residents. That per-capita rank is notably better than the raw totals suggest — Wisconsin's big numbers are mostly a function of its big population.
Scams Targeting Wisconsin Seniors
Wisconsin residents aged 60 and over filed 3,014 complaints and reported $92.0 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 47% 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 Wisconsin gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in Wisconsin
3,092 Wisconsin complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $87.4 million in associated losses — about 45% 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.
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 FreeScam Patterns Hitting Wisconsin
Toll texts in a toll-free state
Wisconsin has no toll roads — “unpaid Wisconsin toll” texts are fake by definition, a warning DATCP has issued repeatedly.
Farm equipment and livestock fraud
Fake tractor, implement, and dairy-cattle listings with bogus hauling companies target Wisconsin's ag economy. Verify sellers before wiring anything.
Grandparent scams with courier pickup
Wisconsin has seen repeated prosecutions of grandparent-scam rings that send couriers to collect cash from victims' homes. Wisconsinites 60+ reported $92 million of the state's $194.2 million in 2025 losses.
How to Report a Scam in Wisconsin
- 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 Wisconsin DATCP, Bureau of Consumer Protection. State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in Wisconsin.
- 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 Wisconsin residents lose to scams in 2025?
Wisconsin residents reported $194.2 million in losses across 16,680 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 26th-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 Wisconsin?
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 Wisconsin DATCP, Bureau of Consumer Protection. If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older Wisconsin residents targeted more?
Wisconsin residents aged 60 and over filed 3,014 complaints and reported $92.0 million in losses in 2025 — about 47% 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.