In 2025, total losses from cryptocurrency fraud reached $11.3 billion, marking a record high in the history of observations. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded over 181,000 citizen complaints, which is more than a 20% increase compared to the previous year.
This is reported by Business • Media
Investment Schemes and New Threats
The largest losses were caused by investment frauds, which accounted for over $7 billion in damages. For this type of crime, IC3 received 61,559 complaints, and the growth rate remains the highest among all categories. Experts also highlight frauds related to the use of crypto ATMs, kiosks, and so-called recovery scams—schemes for refunding money that are fraudulent in themselves.
Additionally, the report mentions other types of fraud: tech support scams, phishing attacks, data breaches, and romance scams, which also cause financial losses to users.
“The most vulnerable group has become users aged over 60 years.”
Age Groups and Geography of Losses
The greatest financial losses were suffered by individuals aged over 60 years—this group lost $4.4 billion. In comparison, citizens aged 50 to 59 lost about $2.1 billion, while the 40-49 age category lost over $1.5 billion. Malefactors actively employ sophisticated social engineering techniques, primarily targeting the older generation.
The growth dynamics of crypto fraud are persistent: while in 2018 losses were only $27 million, by 2021 this amount exceeded $1.5 billion, in 2023 it surpassed $4.4 billion, and in 2025 it reached over $11 billion. The highest number of complaints were recorded in the states of California, Texas, and Florida.
The report also emphasizes the sharp increase in crimes related to the use of artificial intelligence. In 2025, over 8,700 such cases were recorded, with total losses of about $740 million.