Indiana Online Shopping Scam Losses Average $585
Indiana's 2025 average loss per online shopping scam ran 31.5% below the national average, according to a comparison of Federal Trade Commission reports.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Couponing
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Indiana residents reported an average loss of $585 per online shopping scam incident in 2025, the seventh-lowest among all 50 states. Between 2022 and 2025, residents reported losing $10.6 million to online retail scams.
Why it matters
Holiday shopping season brings heavier online spending, and the analysis shows Indiana shoppers face scam risk even though average per-incident losses sit below the national figure. Scam report rates in the state rose 5.0% between 2024 and 2025.
Indiana residents filed 27,422 online shopping scam reports with the Federal Trade Commission between 2021 and 2025, a rate of 81.5 reports per 100,000 residents in 2025. The study does not identify the specific scam types driving those reports.
The players
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is the U.S. federal agency that enforces consumer protection laws and collects fraud reports through its ReportFraud.ftc.gov portal.
WhatAreTheBest.com
WhatAreTheBest.com is an independent comparison website that publishes consumer research and rankings across a range of topics.
The details
Independent comparison site WhatAreTheBest.com analyzed five full years of online shopping scam reports submitted to the Federal Trade Commission. Indiana ranks 25th nationally in total dollars lost to online retail scams, with losses of $153,817 per 100,000 residents between 2022 and 2025.
Timeline
2021–2025: Indiana residents filed 27,422 online shopping scam reports.
2022–2025: Indiana residents reported losing $10.6 million to online retail scams.
2025: The average loss per Indiana online shopping scam incident was $585.
November 27, 2026: Black Friday holiday shopping date.
Seasonal Patterns
The analysis draws on Federal Trade Commission Consumer Sentinel reports, which track fraud complaints across all 50 states over multiple years. Adobe's forecast of $275.1 billion in U.S. online holiday sales places the Indiana findings within a peak spending period when scam exposure typically rises.
Shoppers planning holiday purchases should verify retailers before entering payment details, since scam reports rose in Indiana between 2024 and 2025. Reporting suspected fraud through ReportFraud.ftc.gov helps the FTC track patterns across states.
The takeaway
Verify a retailer's identity and payment method before buying online, especially during high-volume shopping periods. Indiana's per-incident losses are lower than the national average, but report rates show scams remain a steady risk.
What happens next
Black Friday falls on November 27, 2026, the peak online spending day that Adobe forecasts at $12.9 billion nationally.
Further reading
Learn more about Couponing strategies that help Indiana shoppers protect their budgets during the holidays.
More information
Report suspected online shopping fraud through the FTC online fraud reporting portal.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WBIW.
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