The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) highlighted just this past week the significant growth of online scams fueled by cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, revealing that these sophisticated schemes drained nearly $21 billion from US victims last year alone. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) annual report, released on April 6, 2026, paints a troubling picture of escalating digital threats.
The center logged more than 1 million complaints—a sharp rise from roughly 860,000 the previous year—revealing how cybercriminals are exploiting emerging technologies to target everyday people with greater efficiency and scale.
Cryptocurrency-related fraudulent schemes unsurprisingly topped the list as the most financially devastating category.
Victims filed about 181,565 reports tied to crypto investments and transfers, resulting in losses exceeding $11 billion.
Investment fraud overall accounted for nearly half of all reported scam damages, with phishing attacks, extortion attempts, and bogus opportunity schemes ranking among the most common complaints.
Older adults bore a particularly heavy burden. Individuals aged 60 and above reported approximately $7.7 billion in losses, marking a 37 percent increase from 2024.
Broader cyber-enabled fraud complaints reached around 453,000, generating more than $17.7 billion in total damages.
For the first time in the report’s nearly 25-year history, the FBI dedicated a full section to artificial intelligence scams.
These cases involved 22,364 complaints and nearly $893 million in losses.
Perpetrators are now said to be increasingly deploy AI tools to create convincing voice clones, fabricated ID documents, deepfake videos featuring celebrities or family members, and very realistic social media profiles in an effort to build trust before striking their unsuspecting victims.
The bureau detailed additional high-cost tactics, including hacked business email accounts, fake technical support calls, and large-scale data breaches that expose personal information for further exploitation.
To combat these threats, the FBI has ramped up proactive efforts.
Operation Level Up, launched back in 2024, has alerted over 8,000 potential cryptocurrency investment fraud victims and prevented more than $500 million in additional losses.
This year, the agency introduced Operation Winter SHIELD, offering practical guidance for businesses and organizations to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.
Officials are now urging the general public to adopt a simple but powerful strategy: “Take a Beat.”
Before sending money or sharing sensitive details, carefully and thoughtfully pause to evaluate potential red flags such as unsolicited pressure, unusual payment requests, or overly perfect digital impersonations.
The IC3 processes nearly 3,000 complaints daily, emphasizing the need for swift reporting. Anyone suspecting they have fallen victim to these scams should immediately reach out to their local FBI field office or file a report at IC3.gov.