The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its 2025 Internet Crime Report, revealing a staggering $11.366 billion in cryptocurrency fraud losses reported by Americans. This marks a 22% increase from the $9.3 billion lost in 2024, underscoring the expanding scale and sophistication of digital asset scams.
The report details that the IC3 received 181,565 crypto-related complaints in 2025, a 21% year-over-year rise. The average reported loss per victim was $62,604, with 18,589 individuals losing over $100,000. Crypto investment scams remained the dominant category, accounting for $7.228 billion in losses—a 25% increase from 2024.
Americans aged 60 and older were disproportionately affected, suffering $4.432 billion in losses across 44,555 complaints. This demographic accounted for nearly 40% of all crypto fraud losses, a significant climb from the $2.8 billion (roughly 30%) they lost in 2024.
Crypto ATM and kiosk fraud also saw rapid growth, with 13,460 complaints generating $389 million in losses—a 58% increase from the previous year. Older Americans accounted for $257.4 million of these losses. "By the time a victim is at a kiosk, they are already deep in the scammer's trance," said Stefan Muehlbauer, Head of U.S. Government Affairs at security firm CertiK.
Geographically, California led all states with $2.099 billion in losses, followed by Texas ($1.016B), Florida ($914.5M), New York ($593.4M), and Oregon ($545.9M). The FBI highlighted its "Operation Level Up" initiative, which has notified over 8,000 victims and helped prevent more than $500 million in losses, including $225.9 million in 2025 alone.
The report arrives amid mounting regulatory pressure on crypto ATM operators. Recent state-level actions include West Virginia bringing kiosks under money transmission rules and Connecticut suspending Bitcoin Depot's license for overcharging users and failing to refund fraud victims, which led to the CEO's resignation.
Experts warn the problem is even larger globally. Ari Redbord of TRM Labs estimated global crypto fraud at around $35 billion, with only about 15% of victims reporting. He and Muehlbauer both cautioned that scammers are adapting, using more sophisticated methods like AI-generated deepfakes and social engineering as regulators close off existing channels, expecting scam volumes to "evolve rather than disappear" in 2026.
