Crypto scams accounted for over half of estimated $148.2B in total fraud losses last year, with the Consumer Federation of America scaling FBI data for underreporting.
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Cryptocurrency accounted for more than half of all scam and cybercrime losses last year, the Consumer Federation of America said in a new report. The association of non-profit consumer groups put estimated losses at $80.7 billion.
The CFA based its findings on FBI figures that showed crypto scams reported to the agency totaled $11.37 billion, up 22% from 2024. The group applied a multiplier of 7.1x from a 2017 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey, which found that only 14% of fraud victims report to law enforcement. The CFA called the multiplier conservative.
Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, told Decrypt in April that the FBI's number was "an important benchmark" that "captures only part of the picture," working from a similar assumption that around 15% of victims report.
Investment fraud was the largest single category. Reported losses came to $8.6 billion, which the CFA scales to an estimated $61.4 billion, up 32% on 2024. Across all categories, the FBI's complaint center logged 1,008,597 complaints and $20.9 billion in reported losses, a 26% rise. The CFA scales that figure to $148.2 billion across all scams, or $1,009 per household.
Americans over 60 lost $4.4 billion to crypto fraud alone, nearly 40% of the total. The FBI counted AI-enabled crime separately for the first time, logging $893 million across 22,364 complaints.
Enforcement against those networks runs from warning targets to seizing proceeds. The FBI's Operation Level Up contacts people before they pay. The bureau said it has notified 8,000 victims and prevented $500 million in losses, including $225.9 million last year. Last year, an Oklahoma man was sentenced to five years over a $9.4 million crypto Ponzi scheme. Overseas fraudsters have become a particular focus for U.S. law enforcement, with a Scam Center Task Force established last year. The task force seized some $25 million from fraudulent crypto investment platforms and online romance schemes.
The Justice Department moved to forfeit 127,271 Bitcoin, then worth $15 billion, from Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi over forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. The department called it the largest forfeiture action in its history. Prince Group has denied involvement in scam operations.
The CFA has itself sued Meta over scam advertising, naming Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as the platforms most associated with scams. "Tech companies are too often allowed to avoid accountability," said Ben Winters, CFA's director of AI and privacy, pointing to the bipartisan SCAM Act, which would bar online platforms from displaying fraudulent or deceptive advertising.
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