Where Fraud is on the Rise Across America [2026 Report]

Consumer fraud has become incredibly common in today’s digital world, and the problem is costing Americans record amounts. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that consumers lost $15.9 billion due to fraud, an increase of more than $3 billion from the previous year. That loss increase came in a year when the total number of fraud reports actually declined nationally, showing just how costly this issue can be.

While there was an overall downward trend in the quantity of fraud, that pattern was not uniform across the country. To find where fraud rose and fell the most, the All About Cookies research team analyzed FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data comparing 2025 and 2024 fraud reports per 100,000 residents for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country.

Key findings

• Consumers lost $15.9 billion due to fraud in 2025, an increase of more than $3 billion from the previous year
• Despite the monetary increase, total consumer fraud reports across all states fell from 4,547,454 in 2024 to 3,862,258 in 2025, a 15% decrease.
• The biggest declines in fraud were in the District of Columbia (down 27.5%) and Florida (down 26.1%). Kansas led all states with the largest increase in fraud reports per capita, up 6.7% from 2024.
• Miami had the largest decline of any city, with fraud per 100,000 people falling 40.2%. McAllen, Texas, posted the largest year-over-year increase among the top-100 metros, up 19.3%.

States with the biggest increase in fraud reports

Overall, consumer fraud reports decreased by 15% last year. Certain states bucked that overall trend, however, and actually saw fraud complaints increase.

All told, there were 10 different states where fraud complaints increased from 2024 to 2025, though the increases in all of those states were extremely modest. Kansas saw the largest increase among all states, rising from 848 to 905 fraud reports per 100,000 residents, a 6.7% jump last year. Kansas is the only state where fraud reports increased by at least 5% year-over-year, as the second-biggest jump was in Maine, where reports went up by 3.8%.

New Hampshire (3.7%), West Virginia (3.5%), and South Dakota (2.4%) round out the top five, while Wyoming (2.3%), Kentucky (0.7%), Oklahoma (0.7%), Iowa (0.4%), and Idaho (0.2%) are the only other states where fraud increased last year. Additionally, Utah’s fraud rate remained static, at 906 complaints per 100,000 people in both 2024 and 2025.

Regardless of whether fraud increased or decreased in a given state last year, millions of people were impacted by the crime, and millions more will be targeted this year. Taking preventive measures, such as setting up fraud alerts, can go a long way to minimizing fraud damage.

States with the biggest rise in fraud in 2025

1. Kansas

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 905
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +6.7%

2. Maine

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 912
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +3.8%

3. New Hampshire

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,071
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +3.7%

4. West Virginia

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 865
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +3.5%

5. South Dakota

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 692
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +2.4%

States with the biggest drop in fraud reports

While fraud rates only increased a bit in a handful of states last year, the drops in some states were much more significant.

The District of Columbia's 27.5% drop was the steepest in the country, falling from 2,509 fraud reports per 100,000 residents in 2024 to 1,819 in 2025. Notably, however, those per-capita fraud rates were the highest in the country in both years, indicating that fraud is still a major problem in the nation’s capital.

Florida, another state that had one of the highest raw fraud rates in the country in 2024, saw a 26.1% decline, dropping from 2,163 to 1,599 reports per 100,000. Louisiana (-25.5%), Maryland (-24.7%), and Pennsylvania (-24.7%) rounded out the top five.

Several other states in the South and Mid-Atlantic also saw significant declines. Georgia dropped 24.1%, New York fell 22.7%, and New Jersey was down 23.5%. All three of these states had notably elevated fraud rates in 2024.

States where fraud fell most in 2025

1. District of Columbia

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,819
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -27.5%

2. Florida

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,599
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -26.1%

3. Louisiana

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,097
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -25.5%

4. Pennsylvania

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,068
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -24.7%

5. Maryland

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,355
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -24.7%

Cities with the biggest decline in fraud

Among major metro areas, the declines were especially sharp in the Southern region of the country.

Miami's 40.2% drop was the steepest of any city, falling from 2,793 to 1,669 reports per 100,000 residents. That is a drop of more than 40% from 2024 to 2025. However, despite that decrease, Miami remains the highest per-capita fraud rate of any city in the country.

Another Florida city, North Port (near Sarasota), saw the second-largest decline, with year-over-year fraud rates dropping by 37%. Fraud dropped by at least 30% in six other cities, most of them in the South. Those cities were Charleston, South Carolina (-35.5%), El Paso, Texas (-34%), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (-32%), Baton Rouge, Louisiana (-31%), Birmingham, Alabama (-30%), and Atlanta, Georgia (-30%).

Cities where fraud fell most in 2025

1. Miami, Florida

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,669
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -40.2%

2. North Port, Florida

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,413
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -37.0%

3. Charleston, South Carolina

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,380
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -35.5%

4. El Paso, Texas

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 793
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -34.2%

5. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,332
• Change in per-capita identity theft: -31.8%

Cities with the biggest increase in fraud

While fraud declined in most of the country last year, there were a few cities that bucked that trend.

All told, fraud rates increased in nine of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country, led by McAllen, Texas. Located in the southernmost part of Texas, fraud in McAllen rose by more than 19% last year — the only city where fraud rates increased by double digits.

Outside of McAllen, fraud increases were minimal in the limited instances where reports of the crime did increase. The other cities where fraud rose in 2025 are Ogden, Utah (+6%), Wichita, Kansas (+5%), Albany, New York (+3%), Winston-Salem, North Carolina (+2%), Knoxville, Tennessee (+1.5%), Des Moines, Iowa (+1%), and Provo, Utah (+0.5%).

Cities with the biggest rise in fraud in 2025

1. McAllen, Texas

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 686
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +19.3%

2. Ogden, Utah

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 874
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +5.9%

3. Wichita, Kansas

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 937
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +4.7%

4. Albany, New York

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,193
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +2.9%

5. Winston-Salem, North Carolina

• Fraud reports per 100,000 people: 1,108
• Change in per-capita identity theft: +2.1%

Why fraud reports are declining

The national decrease in fraud reports per capita likely reflects a combination of factors:

• Improved fraud detection and prevention tools from financial institutions and platforms
• Greater consumer awareness of common scams (robocalls, impersonation fraud, online shopping fraud)
• Crackdowns on specific fraud schemes that were particularly active in 2024
• Some shift in criminal focus toward identity theft, which rose sharply even as fraud fell
• Possible reduction in targeted scam activity as enforcement actions disrupted major fraud networks

It's worth noting that declining reports don't necessarily mean fraud itself is decreasing, but only that fewer incidents are being formally reported to the FTC. Some researchers note that underreporting remains a significant challenge, particularly among seniors and immigrant communities. Still, the breadth of the decline across the country suggests a meaningful shift in the fraud landscape between 2024 and 2025.

Consumer fraud reports by state

Below is the full ranking of states by year-over-year change in fraud reports per 100,000 residents.

State	2025 Reports per 100K	2024 Reports per 100K	Year-Over-Year Change
Alabama	1,109	1,388	-20.1%
Alaska	955	992	-3.7%
Arizona	1,419	1,459	-2.7%
Arkansas	959	971	-1.2%
California	1,111	1,291	-13.9%
Colorado	1,217	1,260	-3.4%
Connecticut	1,062	1,220	-13.0%
Delaware	1,524	1,876	-18.8%
District of Columbia	1,819	2,509	-27.5%
Florida	1,599	2,163	-26.1%
Georgia	1,599	2,108	-24.1%
Hawaii	849	980	-13.4%
Idaho	851	849	0.2%
Illinois	1,217	1,469	-17.2%
Indiana	964	1,071	-10.0%
Iowa	718	715	0.4%
Kansas	905	848	6.7%
Kentucky	865	859	0.7%
Louisiana	1,097	1,472	-25.5%
Maine	912	879	3.8%
Maryland	1,355	1,799	-24.7%
Massachusetts	970	1,165	-16.7%
Michigan	1,005	1,167	-13.9%
Minnesota	859	906	-5.2%
Mississippi	993	1,221	-18.7%
Missouri	1,119	1,169	-4.3%
Montana	865	873	-0.9%
Nebraska	761	887	-14.2%
Nevada	1,601	1,867	-14.2%
New Hampshire	1,071	1,033	3.7%
New Jersey	1,152	1,506	-23.5%
New Mexico	935	991	-5.7%
New York	1,084	1,402	-22.7%
North Carolina	1,256	1,369	-8.3%
North Dakota	661	696	-5.0%
Ohio	1,062	1,115	-4.8%
Oklahoma	914	908	0.7%
Oregon	1,081	1,090	-0.8%
Pennsylvania	1,068	1,419	-24.7%
Rhode Island	956	1,075	-11.1%
South Carolina	1,300	1,536	-15.4%
South Dakota	692	676	2.4%
Tennessee	1,096	1,188	-7.7%
Texas	1,330	1,561	-14.8%
Utah	906	906	0.0%
Vermont	819	908	-9.8%
Virginia	1,211	1,361	-11.0%
Washington	1,105	1,134	-2.6%
West Virginia	865	836	3.5%
Wisconsin	846	908	-6.8%
Wyoming	920	899	2.3%

Consumer fraud reports in the 100 largest cities

Below is the full ranking of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas by year-over-year change in consumer fraud reports per 100,000 residents.

Metro Area	2025 Reports per 100K	2024 Reports per 100K	Year-Over-Year Change
Akron, OH	1,134	1,286	-11.8%
Albany, NY	1,193	1,159	2.9%
Albuquerque, NM	1,083	1,147	-5.6%
Allentown, PA	1,151	1,623	-29.1%
Atlanta, GA	1,897	2,712	-30.1%
Augusta, GA	1,452	1,591	-8.7%
Austin, TX	1,390	1,504	-7.6%
Bakersfield, CA	868	1,057	-17.9%
Baltimore, MD	1,381	1,854	-25.5%
Baton Rouge, LA	1,256	1,830	-31.4%
Birmingham, AL	1,216	1,748	-30.4%
Boise, ID	957	958	-0.1%
Boston, MA	994	1,218	-18.4%
Bridgeport, CT	1,014	1,252	-19.0%
Buffalo, NY	960	1,002	-4.2%
Cape Coral, FL	1,317	1,578	-16.5%
Charleston, SC	1,380	2,141	-35.5%
Charlotte, NC	1,439	1,774	-18.9%
Chattanooga, TN	1,077	1,183	-9.0%
Chicago, IL	1,335	1,688	-20.9%
Cincinnati, OH	1,045	1,071	-2.4%
Cleveland, OH	1,256	1,443	-13.0%
Colorado Springs, CO	1,327	1,351	-1.8%
Columbia, SC	1,436	1,613	-11.0%
Columbus, OH	1,224	1,348	-9.2%
Dallas, TX	1,613	2,046	-21.2%
Dayton, OH	1,058	1,084	-2.4%
Deltona, FL	1,576	1,738	-9.3%
Denver, CO	1,242	1,325	-6.3%
Des Moines, IA	843	836	0.8%
Detroit, MI	1,198	1,519	-21.1%
Durham, NC	1,159	1,335	-13.2%
El Paso, TX	793	1,205	-34.2%
Fresno, CA	823	1,022	-19.5%
Grand Rapids, MI	805	902	-10.8%
Greensboro, NC	1,242	1,420	-12.5%
Greenville, SC	1,334	1,426	-6.5%
Harrisburg, PA	1,101	1,227	-10.3%
Hartford, CT	1,049	1,209	-13.2%
Honolulu, HI	839	979	-14.3%
Houston, TX	1,536	1,873	-18.0%
Indianapolis, IN	1,128	1,487	-24.1%
Jackson, MS	1,153	1,322	-12.8%
Jacksonville, FL	1,688	1,918	-12.0%
Kansas City, MO	1,092	1,115	-2.1%
Kiryas Joel, NY	1,000	1,262	-20.8%
Knoxville, TN	978	963	1.6%
Lakeland, FL	1,698	2,132	-20.4%
Las Vegas, NV	1,736	2,122	-18.2%
Little Rock, AR	1,348	1,358	-0.7%
Los Angeles, CA	1,158	1,473	-21.4%
Louisville, KY	1,050	1,065	-1.4%
Madison, WI	859	1,002	-14.3%
McAllen, TX	686	575	19.3%
Memphis, TN	1,423	1,867	-23.8%
Miami, FL	1,669	2,793	-40.2%
Milwaukee, WI	1,059	1,233	-14.1%
Minneapolis, MN	950	1,033	-8.0%
Nashville, TN	1,171	1,246	-6.0%
New Haven, CT	1,148	1,311	-12.4%
New Orleans, LA	1,237	1,753	-29.4%
New York, NY	1,130	1,564	-27.7%
North Port, FL	1,413	2,244	-37.0%
Ogden, UT	874	825	5.9%
Oklahoma City, OK	1,007	1,065	-5.4%
Omaha, NE	909	1,160	-21.6%
Orlando, FL	1,638	2,330	-29.7%
Oxnard, CA	1,040	1,136	-8.5%
Palm Bay, FL	1,494	2,020	-26.0%
Philadelphia, PA	1,332	1,954	-31.8%
Phoenix, AZ	1,490	1,553	-4.1%
Pittsburgh, PA	1,049	1,241	-15.5%
Portland, OR	1,169	1,192	-1.9%
Providence, RI	913	1,042	-12.4%
Provo, UT	823	819	0.5%
Raleigh, NC	1,305	1,494	-12.7%
Richmond, VA	1,275	1,518	-16.0%
Riverside, CA	1,060	1,324	-19.9%
Rochester, NY	975	1,073	-9.1%
Sacramento, CA	1,240	1,372	-9.6%
Salt Lake City, UT	997	1,042	-4.3%
San Antonio, TX	1,162	1,407	-17.4%
San Diego, CA	1,234	1,330	-7.2%
San Francisco, CA	1,159	1,291	-10.2%
San Jose, CA	1,100	1,140	-3.5%
Scranton, PA	1,034	1,261	-18.0%
Seattle, WA	1,181	1,258	-6.1%
Spokane, WA	1,018	1,086	-6.3%
St. Louis, MO	1,388	1,497	-7.3%
Stockton, CA	999	1,074	-7.0%
Syracuse, NY	922	1,008	-8.5%
Tampa, FL	1,680	2,051	-18.1%
Toledo, OH	1,007	1,052	-4.3%
Tucson, AZ	1,310	1,364	-4.0%
Tulsa, OK	986	1,007	-2.1%
Virginia Beach, VA	1,311	1,575	-16.8%
Washington, DC	1,382	1,756	-21.3%
Wichita, KS	937	895	4.7%
Winston-Salem, NC	1,108	1,085	2.1%
Worcester, MA	902	1,005	-10.2%

How to protect yourself from consumer fraud

• Use identity theft protection services: Even when fraud rates are falling nationally, individual exposure remains real. The best identity theft protection services monitor your personal data, alert you to suspicious activity, and help you recover if your information is compromised.
• Try a data removal service: Many fraud schemes start with your personal information being sold on data broker sites. The best data removal services work to scrub your name, address, and other details from these databases, reducing your exposure.
• Stay alert with the best antivirus software: Malware and phishing attacks are common fraud vectors. A reliable antivirus program can block malicious sites and flag suspicious downloads before they cause harm.

Methodology

To compile this report, the All About Cookies research team analyzed FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book figures for 2024 and 2025, comparing fraud reports per 100,000 residents for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country by population size. Metropolitan areas are referred to by the name of each metro’s primary city throughout this report. Year-over-year change reflects the percentage difference in per-capita fraud reports between the two years.