Rockford BBB Reveals The Top 10 Local Scams To Watch For In 2026

It would be really nice if scams and scammers decided to take a break after all the criminal activities they engaged in during the holiday season, but that's just not how the world works.

Scammers were busier than ever in 2025, and the numbers prove it. According to the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois and its Rockford Regional Office (BBB), reports of the most common local scams nearly doubled year over year. The total jumped from 1,196 cases to a staggering 2,553 by the end of 2025, a spike the BBB calls unprecedented.

Once again, Online Purchase Scams topped the list for the sixth straight year. As online shopping continues to grow, scammers are keeping pace with fake websites, deceptive pop-up ads, and too-good-to-be-true deals that often involve pets, high-demand items, or limited-time offers. Following closely behind were Phishing scams and Employment scams, with all three categories more than doubling in reported cases compared to the previous year.

Why Are All Of These Scams Exploding In Illinois And Across The Nation?

Unfortunately, it's because so many of them work so well for the scammers.

Dennis Horton, Senior Director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau (BBB):

In many years, we have never seen anywhere near this type of increase. These results show that con artists keep coming up with various schemes and ways to entice all age groups, from young to old.

The only way to put scammers out of business is not to give them your business. The key red flags remain the one-two punch of fraudsters, evoking a high emotion of excitement or fear and demanding immediate payment, often in the form of bank transfers, gift cards, or wires.

While the top three scams remained unchanged, scammers are constantly evolving their tactics. Employment scams, for example, now often include fake virtual interviews, fraudulent job offers, and even the use of artificial intelligence or deepfake technology to appear legit. Across nearly all scam types, the one pattern that remains consistent is fraudsters preying on emotion and urgency, pushing people to act quickly without thinking.

Let's Take A Look At The Other Scams To Be Ready For

Rounding out the BBB’s Top 10 Local Scams to watch in 2026 are:

• Counterfeit products
• Advance fee loans
• Identity theft
• Credit card scams
• Debt collection scams
• Government agency imposters
• Retail business impersonation scams involving trusted brand names like Amazon, Apple, and Walmart.

Even scams that fell out of the top 10, like investment and tech support scams, remain a serious concern, especially investment scams tied to cryptocurrency or precious metals, which often result in large financial losses.

The BBB urges everyone to report scam encounters to BBB ScamTracker, whether money was lost or not. Those reports help warn others and give investigators valuable insight into emerging scam trends. In a year where scam activity is “off the charts,” awareness and caution could actually save the day for you.