Top 5 Illinois Fraud Subcategories, 2025

Top 5 Fraud Subcategories in Illinois, 2025

Sorted by total reported dollar loss. The categories generating the most reports are not the ones causing the most financial damage.

Investment fraud alone accounts for nearly half of all Illinois fraud losses. The Miscellaneous Investments & Investment Advice category totals $175.9M — more than the remaining four categories combined — despite having far fewer reports than government or business imposter scams.

Misc. Investments & Investment Advice

Reports2,929

Avg. per report~$60,100

$175.9M
Romance Scams

Reports1,551

Avg. per report~$19,800

$30.7M
Government Imposters

Reports15,782

Avg. per report~$1,910

$30.2M
Business Imposters

Reports12,018

Avg. per report~$2,370

$28.5M
Job Scams & Employment Agencies

Reports3,516

Avg. per report~$3,015

$10.6M

Visualization by Sahil Shimpi. Data source: FTC Explore Data — Consumer Sentinel Network, Illinois consumers, 2025. Subcategories with 10 or fewer reports are excluded from the FTC state-level data. Figures based on voluntarily filed consumer reports.