Crypto Scams Stole $11.4 Billion in 2025 — Seniors Lost Nearly Half

April 9, 2026 · 6 min read

The FBI just released its 2025 Internet Crime Report, and the numbers are staggering. Americans lost $11.4 billion to cryptocurrency fraud last year — a 22% increase over 2024. Total cybercrime losses hit nearly $21 billion, but crypto scams alone accounted for more than half.

The most alarming part isn’t the total. It’s who’s losing the money.

Americans aged 60 and older lost $4.4 billion to crypto fraud in 2025. That’s nearly 40% of all crypto scam losses, despite seniors making up about 17% of the population. They filed 44,555 complaints — more than any other age group. And 18,589 people across all ages lost over $100,000 each.

This isn’t about people who trade crypto. It’s about people who’ve never owned a single coin — and got manipulated into sending their retirement savings to a wallet they didn’t understand.

How crypto scams actually target seniors

There’s a misconception that crypto scams only affect tech-savvy people dabbling in Bitcoin. The FBI data tells a different story. The scams targeting seniors don’t require the victim to know anything about cryptocurrency — in fact, they work better when the victim doesn’t.

Investment scams and “pig butchering” — $7.2 billion

This is the biggest category by far, and it’s growing fast — up 25% from 2024 with a 48% increase in complaints.

Here’s how it works: A stranger reaches out through social media, a dating app, or even a “wrong number” text. They’re friendly. They build a relationship over days or weeks. Eventually, they mention that they’ve been making great returns on a cryptocurrency investment platform.

They help the victim set up an account on what looks like a legitimate trading platform. The victim deposits a small amount — maybe $500 — and watches it “grow” on a slick dashboard showing fabricated returns. Encouraged, they invest more. Then more. Some victims pour in their entire savings over the course of months.

When the victim tries to withdraw, the money is gone. The platform was fake. The “friend” disappears. The term “pig butchering” comes from the scammer’s playbook — fatten the victim’s confidence before taking everything.

Your parent doesn’t need to understand blockchain for this to work. They just need to trust someone who seems kind and knowledgeable.

Crypto ATM fraud — $389 million (up 58%)

This one is more direct. A scammer calls pretending to be from the government, a utility company, or tech support. They tell the victim they owe money, their account has been compromised, or they need to “secure their funds.” The solution? Go to a Bitcoin ATM — now installed in gas stations and grocery stores across the country — and deposit cash into a specific wallet.

Seniors lost $257 million through crypto ATMs alone, across 6,188 complaints. The scam works because Bitcoin ATM transactions are irreversible and nearly impossible to trace. Once the cash goes in, it’s gone.

No legitimate government agency, bank, or company will ever ask you to pay through a Bitcoin ATM. If someone does, it’s a scam. Full stop.

Recovery scams — $1.4 billion

This is the cruelest part. After someone has been scammed, they’re desperate to get their money back. Scammers know this — and they come back for a second bite.

They impersonate law enforcement, lawyers, or “cryptocurrency recovery firms.” They contact previous victims and promise to recover their stolen funds — for an upfront fee. Some even pose as FBI agents referencing real case numbers.

The victim, already traumatized and hoping for relief, pays again. And loses again. The FBI flagged recovery scams as one of the fastest-growing categories, adding $1.4 billion in crypto losses in 2025.

If someone contacts you offering to recover stolen cryptocurrency, it is almost certainly a scam. The FBI will never ask for payment to investigate a crime. Report it to ic3.gov instead.

The new threat: AI-powered scams

For the first time in its nearly 25-year history, the FBI’s Internet Crime Report includes a dedicated section on artificial intelligence. AI-linked fraud generated over 22,000 complaints and $893 million in losses in 2025.

AI is making every scam category more dangerous, but two trends are hitting families hardest:

AI voice cloning and the “grandparent scam.” Scammers can now clone a person’s voice from just a few seconds of audio — pulled from a voicemail, a social media video, or a phone call. They use the cloned voice to call a parent or grandparent, pretending to be a family member in distress. “Grandma, I’m in trouble, I need money right now, please don’t tell Mom and Dad.” The voice sounds exactly like your child or grandchild.

AI-generated fake advisors. Deepfake video calls and AI-generated personas are being used to impersonate financial advisors, crypto experts, and even celebrities promoting “investment opportunities.” These are far more convincing than the grainy scam emails of the past — victims are seeing real-time video of someone who looks and sounds like a real person.

AI doesn’t create new scam categories so much as it supercharges existing ones. The pig butchering scam becomes more convincing when the “friend” can video-call you. The government impersonation scam becomes more terrifying when the voice sounds exactly like your grandson.

How to protect your family

The FBI’s Operation Level Up prevented $500 million in losses in 2025 by proactively identifying and warning potential victims. But they can’t reach everyone. Here’s what you can do:

• Set up a family code word. Choose a word or phrase that only your family knows. If someone calls claiming to be a relative in distress, ask for the code word. An AI-cloned voice won’t know it. This is the single best defense against voice cloning scams.
• Never send money through a crypto ATM. No government agency, utility, or bank will ever ask for payment this way. If someone directs you to a Bitcoin ATM, hang up immediately.
• Verify investment opportunities independently. Before putting money into any platform, check it through SEC EDGAR or FINRA BrokerCheck. If a new online friend is recommending an investment, that’s a red flag — not a hot tip.
• Be skeptical of unsolicited messages about money. Whether it’s a text, a DM, a dating app match, or a “wrong number” — if a stranger eventually steers the conversation toward investing, that’s the playbook.
• Don’t trust “recovery” offers. If you or a family member has been scammed, report it to ic3.gov. Don’t engage with anyone who contacts you promising to get the money back. They’re the same people — or worse.

Not sure if a message your parent received is a scam? Check it free with our scam checker — paste in the text, and get an instant analysis.

The scammers are getting smarter. Your family can too.

Crypto fraud isn’t a niche problem anymore. $11.4 billion is more than Americans lost to burglary, motor vehicle theft, and shoplifting combined. And seniors are bearing the brunt because these scams are designed around trust, isolation, and urgency — not technical sophistication.

The good news: most of these scams follow predictable patterns, and they can be caught before any money changes hands. A suspicious text. A too-good-to-be-true investment pitch. A panicked call from a “grandchild.” These are the moments that matter — and they’re the moments your family shouldn’t have to navigate alone.

For more on keeping your family safe, read our guide on how to protect your parents from scams and our roundup of the best tools to protect seniors from scammers.