In 2024, the FBI reported that $9.3 billion was lost to crypto scams in the U.S., reflecting a 66% increase from 2023. Investment fraud dominates the reported cases, particularly affecting older individuals who lost $2.8 billion. Authorities have introduced Operation Level Up to combat this surge in fraud, which also highlights severe impacts on victims’ mental health. The ongoing rise of cryptocurrency scams demands systemic responses, better education, and enhanced collaboration within the crypto industry.
Crypto-related scams have hit alarming levels in the United States, with the FBI reporting a staggering $9.3 billion lost to fraud in 2024 alone. This marks a significant 66% increase compared to the previous year. The annual report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) indicates nearly 150,000 complaints linked to cryptocurrency crimes, signifying just how pervasive these fraudulent schemes have become.
Investment fraud continues to dominate the landscape, accounting for over half of the total losses—about $5.8 billion. Perpetrators, posing as financial gurus or trusted promoters, falsely promise high returns on investments. The increasingly common “pig butchering” technique involves scams where criminals build personal or romantic bonds with victims before deceiving them into investing in false crypto initiatives. Once money is put in, it often vanishes without a trace.
Data theft claims the second position among cryptocurrency-related cybercrimes, leading to damages of approximately $1.1 billion. Such breaches usually enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to digital wallets or engage in identity theft, aggravating the cycle of online scams. Particularly concerning is the rise in losses among Americans aged over 60, which totalled $2.8 billion this year, a dramatic jump from the $1.65 billion reported in 2023.
Scammers particularly target older adults, exploiting their limited tech familiarity via fraudulent investment schemes, tech support cons, and impersonation tactics. Interestingly, while older demographics suffer disproportionately, Americans aged 40 to 49 collectively lost about $1.4 billion, and those under 40 reported losses of $1.37 billion.
In response to the escalating criminal activities, authorities have launched Operation Level Up in January 2024. This initiative aims to detect fraud attempts ahead of time and monitor suspicious operations in real-time. The FBI claims to have identified thousands of victims, preventing approximately $285 million in losses through this programme.
The psychological toll on victims is profound, with the report indicating that 42 individuals were referred for suicide prevention interventions, underscoring the dire personal and familial impacts of these fraudulent acts. Cryptocurrency fraud thrives on the anonymity and decentralised nature of digital transactions, further exacerbated by a lack of robust regulation and financial knowledge among users.
