Fraud is one of the most frequently reported crimes in the country. The amount of losses attributed to it continues to grow. With reports showing fraud losses in 2025 reaching a record $16 billion, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that the amount had increased almost 25% from 2024. The agency also reports that nearly one third of reported fraud cases involved impersonating others, according to the report. This statistic indicates how widespread the crime is. 

Keep in mind that there are many types of fraud. Examples may range from a phony phone call to a false insurance claim. It becomes easier to understand the topic if one considers the major categories of fraud. Every type of fraud has its own methods of committing the act, its own victims, and its own agencies that investigate it. 

The different types of fraud are described below.

What Fraud Means

In essence, fraud is deception performed for monetary or non-monetary gains. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the use of the phrase “white collar crime” has been equated with a complete gamut of crimes involving fraud committed by the professionals in the business and government sectors. 

According to the FBI, this type of crime is usually non-violent. In its own white-collar crime webpage, the Federal Bureau of Investigation gives various types of crimes, which include public corruption, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, to name a few.

Defenses of most kinds of fraud charges are divided into more broad categories based on the method employed. State criminal procedures tend to reflect the diversity in fraud crimes. 

In Indiana, defense representation can cover state and federal crimes ranging from credit fraud and check fraud to identity theft. Fraud charges also arise in banking, real estate, and mortgage transactions. Other cases involve mail fraud, wire fraud, commercial fraud, forgery, and white-collar theft offenses. Defense representation of these cases in the state is handled by a Carmel fraud lawyer.

Identity Theft and Consumer Scams

Consumer-based fraud is the type of fraud that consumers will come across first. The guidance on identity theft issued by the FTC describes identity theft as the use of an individual’s personal or financial information without permission. 

The guide mentions several ways that people exploit the information. These include buying things from existing credit cards, applying for new credit cards, setting up phone, electricity, or gas accounts, claiming the tax refund, using the identity to get employment, getting medical treatment, or stating the name of the person when they are apprehended.

An imposter scam is unique because the target willingly gives the money or the information after being tricked into doing so. It was reported by the FTC that consumers lost around $3.5 billion in 2025 to imposter scams. This amount is almost three times as much as the amount reported lost in 2020. 

Business impersonation scams caused losses close to $1 billion, with the most losses incurred by people posing as a bank. Government impersonation scams cost close to $920 million, which is an increase from $789 million the previous year.

Wire, Mortgage, and Securities Fraud

Another group of offenses centers on financial transactions and the systems that carry them. According to the criminal defense website https://www.greconeylandtx.com/, the law treats wire fraud and many other white-collar offenses as federal crimes.

The FBI investigates mortgage fraud and securities fraud. The term mortgage fraud includes any type of deception concerning real estate borrowing, whereas securities fraud refers to any type of deception involving investments like stocks. Each crime is capable of victimizing a huge number of individuals all at one time because there could be hundreds of borrowers or investors involved in one single scam.

Health Care Fraud

Health care fraud is a distinct type of crime, and it has a section on the FBI website. According to this resource, the problem in question is not a victimless one but results in huge financial damage each year, amounting to around tens of billions of dollars. What is more, the expenses affect ordinary citizens, since the crime results in higher insurance premiums, medically unnecessary procedures, and higher taxes.

The FBI categorizes typical schemes based on the type of perpetrator. Thus, health care providers might participate in double billing, phantom billing, unbundling, and upcoding. Patients and individuals commit fraud through identity theft, using another person’s insurance, and allowing others to use their own coverage. Prescription schemes are another type of fraud that involves prescription forgery, diversion, and doctor shopping.

Why the Categories Matter

Classifying fraud helps people understand why the responses differ from one another. Stolen credit card information, a fabricated insurance claim, and an investment scam affect different people and provide different types of evidence. 

Different types of fraud are also investigated by different government agencies. The FTC gathers information on consumer complaints, and the FBI handles white-collar crimes and health-care frauds. The state and local governments, on the other hand, have jurisdiction over cases that never get to the federal authorities. 

For those trying to make sense of this area, understanding classifications can be helpful. With record-breaking amounts of loss, learning about the typical characteristics of scams becomes relevant.