Crypto-related scams are now at an all-time high in the US, according to a recent report from the FBI.
Last year saw the agency receive more than 140,000 crypto-related complaints.
Scammers made off with approximately $9.3 billion, and out of this staggering total, the majority came from fraud.
Americans aged 60 and older lost nearly $2.8 billion of the total to crypto scams within this timeframe.
Despite the efforts of these law enforcement agents, experts are warning that 2025 could see even higher levels of crypto fraud.
This stands as a 66% jump from the year before that, in a major indication that things are getting worse.
Here are the details of this report and what it means for the crypto space.
Last year saw the IC3 receive more than 140,000 crypto-related complaints.
These complaints covered several classes of scams, from investment fraud to sextortion scams, ATM manipulations, and, of course, the infamous pig butchering scams.
These losses amounted to around $9.3 billion, and out of this staggering total, the majority came from fraud.
The rate of scams in the US
These scams typically lure victims in with promises of high-reward, low-risk investments.
They then extort victims and then disappear with no traces.
Although these have long been a problem in the digital asset space, their frequency skyrocketed last year, and the trend has likely continued into this one.
The FBI reports that sextortion scams also made up a large part of these cases, where bad actors manipulate photos and videos of their victims to create explicit content.
They then threaten to release this content unless paid in crypto.
While these scams are emotionally damaging, they also show an increasing trend of bad actors mixing emotional manipulation with scams.
The FBI report shows an even more disturbing statistic. Americans aged 60 and older lost nearly $2.8 billion of the total to crypto scams within this timeframe.
This means that senior citizens lost around 30% of the total, even though seniors made up only 17% of the victims.
More than 33,000 complaints came from this age group, with their average loss coming in at a staggering loss of $83,000 per person.
This is four times that of the average online fraud loss across all age groups (which stands at $19,372).
Crypto fraud targeting these older individuals often takes advantage of their lack of experience with digital finance.
Scammers reportedly convinced their victims to withdraw funds from legitimate institutions and transfer them via crypto ATMs (which are hard to trace).
These crypto ATMs, which were once hailed as a convenient way to convert cash into crypto, have now become a growing tool for fraud.
The IC3 reported that ATM fraud complaints from seniors surged by an insane 99% from 2023 to 2024.
Last year alone saw 2,674 seniors report losing over $107 million through this method.
According to the FBI, this number is likely much higher, considering how many of these cases go unnoticed.
Despite the efforts of these law enforcement agents, experts are warning that 2025 could see even higher levels of crypto fraud.
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, generative AI is raising the bar in scam operations.
These tools can create anything from fake images to videos, audio and can even generate entire websites as criminals now have a cheaper way to scam victims.
Success rates are likely shooting higher this year, with Chainalysis recently estimating that around the world, around $41 billion in illegal crypto volume was recorded last year.
About a quarter of this (around $10 billion) was tied to hacks, extortion, trafficking, and scams.
Overall, while the FBI continues to advance the fight against these malicious actors, the numbers do not lie.
There is still a long way to go, this year and beyond.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.