Crypto fraud record: over 181,000 victims and $11 billion in losses in 2025

• Total losses from crypto fraud exceeded $11 billion in 2025.
• The largest share of losses came from investment schemes — over $7 billion.
• The most vulnerable group were users aged over 60.
• The number of complaints increased by more than 20% year-over-year.

Total losses from crypto fraud exceeded $11.3 billion in 2025, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The report states that the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 181,000 complaints, which is over 20% higher than in 2024. The average loss amounts to about $62,600, while thousands of victims lost more than $100,000.

Which schemes dominate?

Investment scams remain the primary source of losses. They accounted for more than $7 billion in damages across 61,559 complaints and show the fastest growth. The report also highlights operations via crypto ATMs and kiosks, as well as so-called recovery scams — “fund recovery” schemes that are themselves fraudulent.

Other categories include technical support scams, personal data breaches, phishing, and romance scams.

Losses from cryptocurrency fraud by crime type. Data: report.

Who was affected the most?

The largest losses were recorded among users aged over 60 — about $4.4 billion. For comparison, the 50–59 age group lost around $2.1 billion, while the 40–49 group lost more than $1.5 billion. The report notes that scammers use sophisticated social engineering tactics specifically targeting older audiences.

Cryptocurrency losses by age group. Data: report.

Trends and geography

Losses from crypto fraud have been increasing for several years and reached a peak in 2025. Back in 2018, this figure was only in the tens of millions of dollars. According to IC3 data:

2018 — about $27 million;
2021 — over $1.5 billion;
2023 — over $4.4 billion;
2025 — over $11 billion.

The highest number of complaints was recorded in California, Texas, and Florida.

Number of complaints by state. Data: report.

The report also highlights a rise in AI-related crimes — more than 8,700 cases and around $740 million in losses.

Earlier, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reported $17.9 billion in enforcement actions for the fiscal year.

See also: "Oil prices surge sharply after announcement of the Strait of Hormuz blockade"

#сrypto fraud

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