The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States has released its report on cybercrime in 2025, revealing that Americans fell victim to scams totaling approximately $20.87 billion USD, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency crimes being the leading causes of significant losses.
In a statement released by the FBI in early April, it was disclosed that complaints involving cryptocurrency resulted in the highest losses among Americans, with a total of 181,565 complaints amounting to over $11 billion USD. According to Security.org, about 70 million American adults hold cryptocurrency, accounting for around 30% of the adult population, with one-third of holders aged between 30 and 44 years old.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that the total losses in 2025 amounted to over 20 times more than the losses in the 2015 report ($1 billion USD). During this period, the number of complaints surged from 288,000 to over 1 million.
The report highlighted that for the first time in its nearly 25-year history, IC3 specifically dedicated a chapter to AI, involving 22,364 complaints that led to nearly $893 million USD in losses for Americans.
The FBI’s report pointed out that content generated by AI is becoming increasingly difficult to detect but easier to produce. Criminals are now more likely to successfully defraud individuals, companies, and financial institutions.
In business email scams, malicious actors utilize AI chat generators to craft official-sounding emails, mimicking the tone of a company’s CEO or other executives. These emails may contain phishing links or wire transfer instructions.
This technology could also be employed in romance scams or investment fraud to entice individuals into transferring funds.
Compared to 2024, complaints related to cryptocurrency increased by 21%, with an average loss of $62,604 USD.
Fraudsters may coerce individuals into making payments via cryptocurrency ATMs. In some cases, fake law firms target victims, falsely promising to recover funds to exploit them.
By December 2025, the FBI had informed 8,103 victims of cryptocurrency investment scams, with 77% of them unaware that they had been swindled. The agency estimates that its timely notifications prevented losses exceeding $511 million USD.
The IC3 report also highlighted elder fraud issues, listing 201,266 complaints from individuals aged 60 and above last year. This age group had the highest number of complaints among all age brackets, with total losses exceeding $7.7 billion USD (a 59% increase from 2024), and an average loss of $38,500 USD, with nearly 12,500 individuals losing over $100,000 USD.
A Department of Justice report from November 2025 revealed that between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, lawsuits were filed against 608 defendants, accusing them of stealing over $2.36 billion USD from more than one million elderly American victims.
The Secret Service stated that primary fraud tactics targeting the elderly include investment scams, impersonating government officials, and romance scams. The agency warned the public not to divulge personal identification information, internet passwords, or bank access codes to individuals or entities with unverified identities.
Regarding scams involving impersonation of government agencies, the Secret Service emphasized, “Please note that government agencies will never call to threaten you or your family, claiming you will be arrested or face legal action if you do not pay fees for issues such as debt collection, bail, or immigration. Official communications from U.S. government agencies usually begin with a formal letter sent through regular mail.”
This article is based on the information provided by the FBI and serves as a cautionary reminder for individuals to remain vigilant against cybercrimes and scams.