The FBI has dramatically intensified its global crackdown on scam centers, opening more than 30 cases and securing the restraint of over $15 billion in assets. The operation, which has also resulted in hundreds of arrests, marks an unprecedented escalation in the agency’s fight against financial fraud and related crimes such as human trafficking. The announcement emphasises a robust approach to enforcing the law and protecting American citizens.
Simultaneously, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released a report estimating that cryptocurrency-related fraud cost Americans a staggering $80.7 billion in 2025. The report is based on FBI complaint data that recorded $11.37 billion in reported crypto scam losses—up 22% from 2024—but applies a 7.1x multiplier derived from a Bureau of Justice Statistics survey indicating only 14% of victims report fraud. The CFA therefore calculates a conservative estimate of $80.7 billion, with investment fraud alone accounting for $61.4 billion of that figure, a 32% increase year-over-year. In total, across all scam types, the FBI logged over a million complaints and $20.9 billion in reported losses, which the CFA scales to $148.2 billion.
The report further highlights that Americans over 60 lost $4.4 billion to crypto fraud, and for the first time, the FBI separately tallied AI-enabled crime, logging $893 million across 22,364 complaints. The FBI’s Operation Level Up, which proactively contacts potential victims before they pay, has notified 8,000 individuals and prevented an estimated $500 million in losses. Enforcement actions have also reached major organised crime: the Justice Department moved to forfeit 127,271 Bitcoin—worth $15 billion at the time—from the Prince Group chairman over forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. This is the largest forfeiture action in the department’s history.
