Cryptocurrency-linked fraud in the United States reached a record high in 2025, with reported losses totaling $11.366 billion, a 22% increase over the previous year. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 181,565 crypto-related complaints over the course of the year, representing a 21% year-over-year rise. The broader cyber-crime landscape cost Americans nearly $21 billion in total, with IC3 logging more than one million complaints, roughly 45% of which involved cyber-enabled fraud or scams that accounted for 85% of all reported losses. The average individual loss stood at $62,604, and 18,589 victims each reported losing more than $100,000.
Crypto investment scams remained the single largest category, generating $7.228 billion in losses — a 25% increase from 2024 — while related complaints surged 48%. Jose Perez, Operations Director for the Bureau’s Criminal and Cyber Branch, stated in the report that the FBI remains committed to protecting Americans online, referencing a recent executive order targeting cybercrime, fraud, and foreign scam operations. Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, described the FBI’s figure as an important benchmark that nonetheless captures only part of the picture, estimating global fraud losses at around $35 billion given that only about 15% of victims report incidents.
Americans aged 60 and older bore a disproportionate share of the damage, filing 44,555 complaints and suffering $4.432 billion in crypto losses — more than any other age group. That figure is nearly double the $2.139 billion lost by victims in their 50s and represents a notable climb from the $2.8 billion seniors lost in 2024, when their losses accounted for roughly 30% of all crypto fraud despite the group comprising only about 17% of the U.S. population. Scammers increasingly exploit accessible payment methods such as QR codes and kiosks to reach older victims.
Crypto ATM and kiosk fraud continued to accelerate, with 13,460 complaints generating $389 million in losses in 2025 — a 58% rise in losses and a 23% increase in complaints compared to the prior year. Older Americans accounted for $257.4 million of those losses across 6,188 complaints. Recovery scams, in which fraudsters pose as services offering to retrieve lost funds, contributed an additional $1.4 billion in crypto losses, frequently combining impersonation tactics with the targeting of prior victims.
California led all states in both complaints and losses at $2.099 billion, followed by Texas at $1.016 billion, Florida at $914.5 million, New York at $593.4 million, and Oregon at $545.9 million despite ranking 24th in complaint volume. Redbord noted that the concentration of losses in California, Texas, and Florida reflects those states’ high levels of crypto adoption and financial activity. The FBI’s Operation Level Up, which targets crypto investment scams, has notified more than 8,000 victims and helped prevent over $500 million in losses, including $225.9 million in 2025 alone.
The data arrives as regulatory pressure on crypto ATM operators intensifies across the country. West Virginia‘s governor recently signed legislation bringing crypto kiosks under money transmission licensing requirements, while Minnesota lawmakers are considering an outright ban on the machines. Connecticut suspended the state operating license of Bitcoin Depot after regulators found the company overcharged users and failed to fully refund fraud victims, a situation that led to the resignation of the company’s chief executive.
Stefan Muehlbauer, Head of U.S. Government Affairs at CertiK, told Decrypt that by the time a victim reaches a kiosk, they are already deeply under the scammer’s influence. He argued that regulations serve as a vital hurdle that slows fraud but represent only one component of a broader solution, calling for a defense-in-depth approach that combines AI-driven detection, strong recovery systems, and public education. He cautioned that as crypto ATMs face restrictions, scammers are shifting toward more sophisticated methods including social engineering using deepfakes. Both Muehlbauer and Redbord expect fraud volumes to continue growing as criminal operations become increasingly organized and leverage artificial intelligence, even as the legitimate crypto ecosystem expands in parallel.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
