Crypto scam losses in 2025 hit estimated $80.7 billion, CFA says
Consumer Federation of America says reported FBI crypto fraud losses likely understate the scale because many victims do not contact police.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
Crypto scam losses in 2025 reached an estimated $80.7 billion for Americans, according to the Consumer Federation of America, a figure that shows how fraud has become one of crypto’s biggest risks for everyday users. The estimate starts with FBI data, then adjusts for victims who never report what happened to law enforcement.
The FBI said crypto-related scam and cybercrime losses reported to the agency totaled $11.37 billion last year, up 22% from 2024. CFA, an association of nonprofit consumer groups, said crypto made up more than half of all scam and cybercrime losses reported to the FBI.
How much did Americans lose to crypto scams in 2025?
CFA estimated $80.7 billion in total crypto scam losses after applying a 7.1 times multiplier to the FBI’s reported figure. The group said it based that adjustment on a 2017 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey that found only 14% of fraud victims report incidents to law enforcement.
CFA described the multiplier as conservative. Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, told Decrypt in April that the FBI’s number was “an important benchmark” but “captures only part of the picture,” based on a similar view that about 15% of victims report fraud.
Across all online scam and cybercrime categories, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 1,008,597 complaints and $20.9 billion in reported losses, according to the FBI’s 2025 report. CFA scaled that total to $148.2 billion, equal to $1,009 per household, and said the reported loss number was up 26%.
Investment fraud led reported losses
Investment fraud was the largest category in the FBI data, with $8.6 billion in reported losses. CFA estimated the true cost at $61.4 billion after applying its reporting adjustment. Reported investment fraud losses rose 32% from 2024, according to the group.
Older Americans were hit hard. The FBI data showed people over 60 lost $4.4 billion to crypto fraud alone, representing nearly 40% of the total reported crypto fraud losses.
The FBI also counted AI-enabled crime separately for the first time. The bureau logged $893 million in losses tied to that category across 22,364 complaints, according to FBI figures cited by CFA.
What law enforcement is doing
Federal enforcement has focused on both prevention and asset seizures. The FBI said its Operation Level Up, a program that contacts potential victims before they send more money, has notified 8,000 victims and prevented $500 million in losses, including $225.9 million last year.
Recent cases cited in the report include an Oklahoma man sentenced to five years in prison over a $9.4 million crypto Ponzi scheme. U.S. law enforcement has also targeted overseas scam networks, including a Scam Center Task Force that seized about $25 million tied to fraudulent crypto investment platforms and online romance schemes.
The Justice Department also moved to forfeit 127,271 Bitcoin, then valued at $15 billion, from Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi over alleged forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. The department called it the largest forfeiture action in its history. Prince Group has denied involvement in scam operations.
CFA has sued Meta over scam advertising and said Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were the platforms most associated with scams in its report. Ben Winters, CFA’s director of AI and privacy, said tech companies are “too often allowed to avoid accountability,” while pointing to the bipartisan SCAM Act, a bill that would bar online platforms from showing fraudulent or deceptive ads.
This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.
