Crypto scams and the $80 billion estimate — what beginners should take from the FBI's numbers

A new report estimates that Americans lost about $80.7 billion to crypto-related scams in 2025 — many times the $11.37 billion that was actually reported to the FBI. Crypto made up more than half of all reported scam and cybercrime losses last year, and the report argues the true damage is far larger because most victims never come forward.

The $80.7 billion figure comes from the Consumer Federation of America, a group of non-profit consumer organizations. It starts from the FBI's tally of $11.37 billion in reported crypto losses — itself up 22% from the year before — and multiplies it by 7.1, a factor drawn from a 2017 government survey that found only about 14% of fraud victims ever report to law enforcement. The federation calls that multiplier conservative, and a policy expert at analytics firm TRM Labs has separately said the FBI's number captures only part of the picture, working from a similar assumption.

Investment fraud was the single largest category, with $8.6 billion reported and an estimated $61.4 billion once unreported cases are included — up 32% on the prior year. Older people were hit hardest: Americans over 60 lost $4.4 billion to crypto fraud alone, nearly 40% of the total. For the first time, the FBI also counted AI-enabled crime on its own, logging $893 million across more than 22,000 complaints.

Enforcement is catching some of it. The FBI says its Operation Level Up, which contacts people before they hand over money, has warned 8,000 potential victims and prevented about $500 million in losses. In the biggest forfeiture action in its history, the US Justice Department moved to seize 127,271 Bitcoin — worth roughly $15 billion at the time — tied to forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. The report also names Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as the platforms most associated with scams, and the federation has sued their parent company, Meta, over scam advertising.

For a beginner, the useful takeaway isn't the exact dollar figure — it's the shape of the problem. The largest losses come from investment pitches promising steady or guaranteed returns, often built up slowly through a friendly online relationship before any money moves. Slow down, verify who you are dealing with, and never send funds because someone online is rushing you. And if it happens to you, report it anyway: the reason the real number is estimated so high is precisely that most people stay silent. This is information, not financial advice.