FBI: Crypto scams cost Americans $81B in 2025

The mechanics are familiar: investment scams that promise outsized returns, and impersonation schemes where fraudsters pose as government officials or tech support staff. In “pig butchering” operations, victims are cultivated over weeks or months before being cleaned out. Older Americans are disproportionately targeted because they tend to hold more savings, are less familiar with how crypto transactions work, and are more likely to trust authority figures, real or fabricated.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis puts global crypto scam losses in 2025 at approximately $17 billion. That figure reflects confirmed on-chain activity tied to known fraudulent addresses, plus projections accounting for addresses not yet identified as malicious. The 22% year-over-year increase in reported losses tracks with broader trends Chainalysis and other analytics firms have documented as fraud operations become more professionalized, better funded, and increasingly run by organized criminal enterprises rather than individual bad actors.

The report lands on the desks of legislators and agency heads debating the next round of crypto regulation in the US, including the CLARITY Act, which has drawn support from both parties. The concentration of losses among seniors – a demographic that votes in high numbers and commands bipartisan sympathy – adds a layer of political pressure that will be difficult to ignore. The full IC3 report is available on the FBI’s website.