The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) released its annual report on April 23, 2025, detailing crypto scams and losses across the United States in 2024.
The report highlights over 140,000 complaints and roughly $9.3 billion in victim losses, underlining the growing threat to the public, especially older Americans. It draws on data gathered directly from victims’ submitted complaints and estimated financial damages.
Surge in Complaints and Losses
In 2024, the IC3 logged over 140,000 complaints tied to cryptocurrency fraud. These cases added up to nearly $9.3 billion in losses.
That marks a huge jump from 2023, when reported crypto losses stood at about $5.6 billion. The rise represents a 66% increase in funds stolen through schemes involving digital coins.
Older Americans Hardest Hit
Americans over age 60 filed roughly 33,000 of those complaints and lost about $2.8 billion. Although seniors make up a smaller share of the population, they face the biggest impact.
The report notes that this age group both sent in the most tips and suffered the largest financial damage.
“Fraud made up most of the losses reported in 2024,” the IC3 wrote. “Ransomware also remained a top threat, with complaints up 9% from 2023.” These attacks often target critical systems, forcing organisations to pay ransoms to regain access to locked data.
Common Schemes
Investment schemes caused the largest share of financial damage. In these scams, fraudsters promise big returns on crypto holdings to lure in victims. Once people send money, the criminals vanish.
The highest number of reports, however, came from “sextortion” scams. In these cases, bad actors threaten to share fake, explicit images or videos unless the victim pays in cryptocurrency.
Other scams involve bogus crypto ATMs or kiosks, where users think they are buying coins but end up wiring funds into a fraudster’s wallet.
Efforts to Fight Fraud
Many victims never report scams, so the true scale may be even worse. To combat rising fraud, the FBI launched “Operation Level Up” in early 2024. By January 2025, this effort had saved would-be victims an estimated $285 million by intervening before transfers went through.
At the same time, blockchain analytics firms warn that 2025 could see even more scams. New tools like generative AI let criminals run schemes on a larger scale and lower cost.
The growing losses show why users must stay alert. Experts urge anyone dealing in cryptocurrencies to verify contacts, use secure wallets, and report suspicious messages right away.
Crypto fraud drove record losses in 2024 and pushed many seniors into deep financial trouble. While law enforcement steps up its efforts, the only sure defence is caution. By learning how to spot scams and reporting them fast, everyone can help curb this costly trend.
Also Read: United States DOJ Moves Forward with Crypto Fraud Case Targeting Former SafeMoon CEO