INDIANAPOLIS — A new report reveals identity crime is becoming more financially severe, with 35% of reported losses exceeding $10,000.
WRTV Investigates has been telling you about numerous scams in central Indiana, including the traffic enforcement QR code, pig-butchering and banking scams.
An Irvington massage therapist lost $18,750 to the banking scam, and a Bedford man lost more than $10,000 to the pig-butchering investment scam.
The Identity Theft Resource Center released its 2025 Annual Report, which also found that 68% of identity crime victims seriously considered self-harm, compared to 14% who received support from the ITRC.
“That dramatic number indicates to me the power of having a human lifeline of human connection during a crisis is more important now than ever,” said Eva Velasquez, CEO at the Identity Theft Resource Center, a national nonprofit that supports victims of fraud. “The power of having a lifeline of human connection during a crisis is more important now than ever.”
Too many people rely on their own research using Google or other internet search engines.
“Google is not the arbiter of truth,” said Velasquez. “There are a lot of scam websites on these search engines. There is still a lot of misinformation and hallucinations and AI summaries.”
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Many victims end up scammed a second time because they do an internet search for help and find a “recovery” service or business.
“Anyone that guarantees that they can recover your money, I want you to run,” said Velasquez. “No one can guarantee you can recover your money.”
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is making scams easy and cheap for bad actors to pull off.
“It takes no time, very little money to put into perpetrating these scams, and that is what makes everyone a target,” said Velasquez. “I'm telling you that everyone is vulnerable to this, and no one has the skills to be the human lie detector that you need to be in order to suss these things out.”
The best way to avoid falling victim to a scam is to pause and contact a trusted family member or friend.
If it’s an unsolicited phone call, email or text—go directly to the source to verify.
You can also file a report with:
