A recent report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has detailed a dramatic increase in cryptocurrency-related fraud across the United States in 2025, with victims collectively losing over $11.3 billion. This figure puts digital asset fraud at the center of all reported cybercrime losses in the country and reflects a growing trend of criminal exploitation within the crypto sector.
Crypto investment schemes drive rising losses
The FBI’s findings show that investment scams involving cryptocurrencies have become the most financially damaging crime category among all internet fraud. Criminals operating these schemes employ psychological tactics, create false impressions of legitimacy, and pressure victims into sending digital assets to fraudulent platforms.
Throughout 2025, these crypto investment frauds accounted for $7.2 billion in reported losses. Such scams often begin with unsolicited contact through texts, social platforms, dating apps, or online ads, where victims are lured into exclusive groups and prompted to deposit funds that appear to grow through fabricated returns.
Commonly, when victims attempt to access their funds, scammers impose false charges such as taxes or fees then disappear, leaving no recourse. Reports highlight that many of these operations are coordinated by organized criminal networks in Southeast Asia, with particular reference to Cambodia, Laos, and Burma. These groups are believed to exploit trafficked workers in running large-scale online fraud campaigns.
The FBI, established in 1908, serves as the United States’ principal federal law enforcement agency and is responsible for investigating crimes ranging from cyber threats to national security risks. The agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center gathers data from victims across the nation for investigation and prevention efforts.
Digital assets take center stage in multiple fraud types
Cryptocurrencies are now commonly used not just in investment scams but also across various types of online fraud, including technical support schemes and government impersonation incidents. The data reveals that 72% of investment frauds, 43% of tech support scams, and 40% of government agency impersonation scams involve digital currencies as the payment method.
Losses from general investment fraud reached $8.648 billion, indicating that non-crypto investment schemes still pose significant risks, but the majority of the losses were crypto-related. Scams involving technical support and cryptocurrency generated more than $1.2 billion in losses, highlighting a shift in fraud trends toward digital payment channels.
Specific forms of crypto-enabled fraud such as ATM and kiosk scams have also risen, where perpetrators persuade victims to transfer funds through QR-code-based transactions at physical machines. Recovery fraud, a form of secondary scam targeting previous victims by promising to retrieve lost crypto funds, has become increasingly prevalent.
Seniors shouldering disproportionate losses
Older Americans, especially those aged 60 and above, experienced the most severe financial impact from crypto fraud in 2025. This demographic filed over 44,000 complaints and lost $4.43 billion, accounting for the largest share among all age groups.
Within the investment fraud subset, those over 60 sustained $2.76 billion in damages, which is nearly double the losses of the 50 to 59 age group. Senior victims were also disproportionately represented in ATM-related scandals, making up two-thirds of reported losses in this area.
The Bureau’s initiatives to counteract these trends include Operation Level Up, established in January 2024, which uses complaint data to identify and reach out to active fraud victims. In 2025, agents intervened in nearly 4,000 cases, preventing substantial additional losses and alerting targets before funds could be sent or accounts liquidated.
Another effort, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia Scam Center Strike Force, coordinates multiple federal agencies to focus on dismantling scam operations in Southeast Asia and disrupt their use of U.S.-based online infrastructure. This multi-agency force is particularly focused on groups believed to be linked to Chinese organized crime syndicates.
Since the launch of these operations, authorities have credited them with saving victims hundreds of millions of dollars in potential fraud losses. The FBI asserts that these figures likely undercount the true scale, as many incidents remain unreported by victims.
