WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) – More than $10.3 million has been stolen through investment scams in Wisconsin since 2024.
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) highlighted its investment scam tracker system. The system lists current scams and warning signs to help protect consumers and their money.
Scammers are using investment schemes to target people in deceptive ways. These are sophisticated digital asset schemes that also include romance schemes.
DFI says its scam tracker alerts consumers to these scams to make it harder for scammers to take money.
Victim filings increase
DFI says from 2023 to 2025, they saw victim filings increase 35%. Case referrals from FINRA and the SEC went up 160%. Senior victims identified in DFI investigations also rose 118%.
Robin Jacobs, attorney supervisor for the DFI enforcement bureau, said there’s one scam in particular they are seeing more…
This category refers to crimes committed by employees or insiders against their own organizations. It is often the most damaging because the perpetrator has authorized access to systems.
- Asset Misappropriation: The most common form, involving the theft of company resources. This ranges from simple “skimming” (taking cash before it’s recorded) to complex schemes involving the theft of inventory or intellectual property.
- Payroll Fraud: Employees may create “ghost employees” on the system, falsify their own timesheets to claim unworked overtime, or divert salary payments to their own accounts.
- Financial Statement Fraud: Management deliberately misrepresents the company’s financial health by inflating revenue or hiding liabilities to attract investors or meet performance bonuses.