Americans Lost $9 Billion to Crypto Fraud in 2024, Seniors Most Affected

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A recent report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) revealed that Americans lost a staggering $9.3 billion to cryptocurrency-related fraud in 2024.

The FBI reports that it received over 140,000 complaints referencing crypto fraud, which the report broke down by age and amount lost.

Individuals over the age of 60 were the most affected by crypto fraud, accounting for 33,369 complaints and over $2.8 billion in losses. Age groups 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 to 59 each accounted for roughly 20,000 combined complaints valued at over a billion in losses.

20- to 29-year-olds submitted 13,591 criminal complaints and reported over $370 million in economic losses, while those 20 and under were least affected, with 1,819 complaints and just under $8 million in total losses.

Cryptocurrency fraud takes many different forms. Among the most common are “pig butchering” schemes, where scammers build online relationships before pushing fraudulent crypto investments.

The FBI report also documented a rise in schemes that use cryptocurrency ATMs or QR codes.

TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company, noted that crypto is appealing to fraudsters because it is “pseudonymous, irreversible, and easy to transfer across borders.” In other words, catch me if you can.

In total, Americans lost $16.6 billion to internet crimes in 2024, a 66% increase from 2023.

As with crypto-related crimes, people above 60 reported the greatest number of complaints and losses, including schemes such as phishing (when criminals trick people into revealing sensitive information like passwords or financial details), identity theft and government impersonation.  

The FBI has reported a sharp increase in the number of complaints and amount of money lost due to internet scams in general over the past 5 years, with reported monetary losses almost tripling between 2020 and 2024.

As with crypto-related crimes, seniors reported the most complaints to the FBI and suffered the greatest losses. “Phishing” crimes were the most common, followed by cryptocurrency, and even extortion.

In February, 2025, the FBI said that its “Operation Level Up” had saved crypto fraud victims roughly $285 million between January 2024 and January 2025.

However, Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, warned that generative artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to a dramatic increase in new internet scams, as the technology makes these crimes “more scalable and affordable for bad actors to conduct.”

That firm estimates that globally, there is roughly $41 billion in illicit cryptocurrency funds in 2024, with 25% of those funds involved with “hacking, extortion, trafficking, or scams.”