Crypto investment scams alone accounted for $7.228 billion in losses rising 25% from 2024
Crypto fraud in United States has hit an all time high. FBI’s annual Internet Crime Complaint Center report has revealed the true scale of digital asset scams in 2025 and numbers are deeply alarming.
Americans reported $11.366 billion in crypto-related losses in 2025 which is a 22% jump from the previous year. FBI’s IC3 received 181,565 crypto-related complaints and this is 21% increase year over year. The average reported loss stood at $62,604 with 18,589 victims each losing more than $100,000.
Total cybercrime losses in all categories reached $20.87 billion in 2025 with crypto accounting for major share. Cyber enabled fraud is 85% of all reported losses totalling $17.7 billion.
Investment scams continued to cause most damage. Crypto investment scams alone accounted for $7.228 billion in losses rising 25% from 2024 alongside a 48% increase in complaints. These schemes typically involve long-term social engineering where victims are lured through social media messaging apps or dating platforms before being directed to fraudulent investment platforms.
Older Americans bore disproportionate burden. Americans aged 60 and older filed 44,555 complaints and suffered $4.432 billion in crypto losses more than any other age group. This is nearly double the $2.139 billion lost by victims in 50s.
Crypto ATM fraud is also surging fast. IC3 counted 13,460 ATM related complaints in 2025. This generated $389 million in losses which is 58% rise in losses and 23% increase in complaints from 2024.
FBI says most crypto scams are run by organised criminal groups in Southeast Asia that use human trafficking victims as forced labour to operate long term psychologically manipulative investment schemes.
FBI’s Operation Level Up has notified over 8000 victims and helped prevent more than $500 million in losses including $225.9 million in 2025. Experts warn that official figures are only fraction of actual global losses. TRM Labs estimated worldwide crypto fraud closer to $35 billion among which only around 15% of victims ever file formal complaint.
