Crypto Scam Statistics 2026: The Numbers, Clearly Sourced

In 2025, Americans reported a record $20.9 billion in total losses to internet crime, a 26% jump from the year before, across more than one million complaints to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Cryptocurrency was the single biggest driver. IC3 logged $11.36 billion in crypto-related losses from more than 180,000 complaints, a 22% increase over 2024. Separately, the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network recorded $15.9 billion in reported fraud losses of all kinds, up from $12.5 billion in 2024. Blockchain-analytics firm Chainalysis traced at least $14 billion flowing to scam wallets on-chain in 2025 (up from $9.9 billion in 2024), a figure it expects to top $17 billion as more addresses are identified.

Crypto now accounts for more than half of all money lost to internet crime reported to the FBI ($11.36 billion of $20.9 billion). The costliest single category was crypto investment fraud, at $7.2 billion — which the FBI describes as the top source of financial loss in its 2025 report.

The FTC saw the same pattern: investment scams were its top loss category at $7.9 billion, and more than $4 billion was lost through the two costliest payment methods, bank transfers and cryptocurrency. Crypto's speed and irreversibility are exactly what make it attractive to criminals, which is why funds can rarely be clawed back.

A handful of playbooks account for most crypto losses:

• Investment and "pig butchering" scams: long cons where a stranger builds trust over weeks, then steers you to a fake trading platform. These drive the bulk of dollar losses.
• Impersonation scams: Chainalysis found revenue from impersonation schemes grew roughly 1,400% year over year in 2025, with fraudsters posing as officials, exchange "support" staff, or well-known figures.
• Romance and confidence scams: the FBI attributed about $929 million in losses to romance and confidence schemes, many paid in crypto.
• Crypto ATM / kiosk fraud: the FBI received more than 13,400 complaints tied to crypto kiosks, with losses topping $388 million — a 58% rise over 2024.

Older adults lose the most money. The FBI found people 60 and older reported about $7.7 billion in losses in 2025, roughly a 60% increase from 2024 and more than any other age group. The FTC likewise found consumers 50 and older reported $4.3 billion in fraud losses, versus $2.3 billion among younger adults.

But being younger is no protection. The FTC found 51% of fraud reports from people 19 and younger involved a money loss, compared with just 21% of reports from people 80 and older — younger people get targeted constantly, while older victims tend to lose far larger amounts per incident. Across nearly every age group, scams that started on social media caused the most losses: about 30% of people who lost money said the scam began there, totaling $2.1 billion.

The average amount lost per scam is climbing fast. Chainalysis found the typical scam payment rose from $782 in 2024 to $2,764 in 2025, a 253% increase in a single year.

A major reason is automation. Chainalysis estimates crypto scam operations linked to AI tools took in about $3.2 million each on average, versus $719,000 for those without such links — roughly 4.5 times more revenue. AI lets criminals run more convincing, higher-volume schemes with less effort, which is why prevention and early recognition matter more than ever.

One of the cruelest trends is the recovery scam, a second fraud aimed at people who have already been scammed once. Criminals pose as lawyers, "fund recovery" firms, or even government agencies and promise to get your crypto back — for a fee. The FBI logged more than 10,500 recovery-scam complaints in the past year, with roughly $1.4 billion in reported losses.

The FBI is blunt about this: be wary of any recovery service that charges an up-front fee. The FBI and IC3 never charge money, never work through private law firms or "crypto recovery" companies, and never ask you to pay a third party. No legitimate party asks for payment in advance to get your funds back. If someone guarantees a recovery in exchange for a fee, it is simply another scam — and you can report it at ic3.gov.

These figures almost certainly understate the real problem. Both the FBI and FTC note that most fraud goes unreported — out of shame, confusion, or not knowing where to turn — so the true totals are higher. Organizations also measure differently: the FBI and FTC count what victims report, while Chainalysis traces money moving on the blockchain, so their numbers will not match exactly.

If you see your own experience reflected in these statistics, please know it happened to millions of other people in 2025 — and that reporting it, even if the money is gone, helps investigators and can protect the next person.

In the US, the FBI's IC3 logged a record $11.36 billion in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2025, from more than 180,000 complaints — over half of all internet-crime losses that year. Globally, Chainalysis traced at least $14 billion (and estimates $17 billion or more) flowing to scam wallets on the blockchain. Because most fraud goes unreported, the real total is almost certainly higher.

By dollars lost, crypto investment fraud is by far the largest, at $7.2 billion in the FBI's 2025 report — much of it so-called pig butchering, where a scammer builds a relationship before pushing a fake trading platform. Impersonation, romance, and crypto-ATM (kiosk) scams are also widespread.

Everyone is a target, but the impact differs by age. Adults 60 and older lose the most money — about $7.7 billion in 2025 according to the FBI — while younger people report losses more often but usually in smaller amounts. Scams that start on social media cause the largest share of losses across almost every age group.

Honestly, recovery is often difficult or impossible. Crypto transactions are fast and irreversible, and criminals move funds quickly, frequently overseas. Some cases are solved and funds are occasionally seized or frozen, so it is still worth reporting to the FBI's IC3 and your local police right away. But be very careful: anyone who guarantees recovery or asks for an up-front fee is running a second scam. No legitimate party charges you in advance to get your funds back.

The trend is upward. FBI crypto losses rose 22% and total internet-crime losses rose 26% in 2025, and the average amount lost per scam more than tripled year over year, according to Chainalysis. AI tools are making scams more convincing and higher in volume, so awareness and prevention remain the best protection.