Interpretation of the FBI "2024 Crypto Assets Fraud Report": Losses rise by 66%, elderly groups become the main victims.

Author: Lisa

Editor: Sherry

In April 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) released the "2024 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report." This report analyzes the number of cryptocurrency-related complaints, the scale of losses, victim profiles, types of crimes, and progress in asset recovery, based on data collected by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center ( IC3) in 2024. This article will interpret the core content of the report to help readers quickly grasp trend changes and enhance their awareness and prevention capabilities against complex cybersecurity threats.

Key Point 1: 2024 Complaint Data

1. Overall Situation

In 2024, IC3 received a total of 859,532 complaints, resulting in actual losses of $16.6 billion, an increase of 33% compared to 2023. Among these, 256,256 complaints involved actual financial losses, with an average loss of approximately $19,372 per incident. About 83% of the losses were caused by online scams.

2. Cryptocurrency-related situation

Complaints related to cryptocurrencies reached 149,686, resulting in losses of 9.3 billion dollars, with the loss amount increasing by 66% year-on-year. Among the victims, the group aged 60 and above accounted for the highest proportion.

3. Individuals aged 60 and above

This group submitted 147,127 complaints, reporting losses of $4.885 billion. The number of complaints increased by 46% year-on-year, and the amount of losses increased by 43% year-on-year. Among them, 7,500 people reported losses exceeding $100,000, with an average loss as high as $83,000.

Key Point 2: Analysis of the Victim Group

1. Overall Age Distribution

Under 20 years old: 17,993 complaints, a loss of 22.5 million dollars.

Ages 20-29: 71,399 complaints, losses of $540.1 million.

Ages 30-39: 108,899 complaints, resulting in a loss of 1.4 billion dollars.

Ages 40-49: 112,755 complaints, losses of 2.2 billion dollars.

Ages 50-59: 84,540 complaints, losses of 2.5 billion dollars.

Aged 60 and above: 147,127 complaints, resulting in a loss of 4.8 billion dollars.

2. Victims of Cryptocurrency

In cryptocurrency investment scams, the group aged 60 and above has the highest number of complaints (8,043 cases), with losses amounting to 1.6 billion dollars, far exceeding other age groups. The elderly, due to a lack of awareness of scams and unfamiliarity with new payment methods like cryptocurrency ATMs, have become a primary target for scammers (2,674 cases, with losses of 107,206,251 dollars). They are also the group with the most complaints in cases of extortion/sexual extortion (20,445 cases, with losses of 724,288,735 dollars).

Key Point Three: Analysis of Crime Types

1. From the number of complaints

Phishing/Electronic Deception: 193,407 cases.

Ransom: 86,415.

Personal data breaches: 64,882 cases.

Chargeback/Transaction Failure Fraud: 49,572 cases.

Investment fraud: 47,919 cases.

2. From the perspective of the amount of loss

Investment fraud: $6.57 billion.

Business email scam ( BEC ): $2.77 billion.

Technical support scam: 1.46 billion dollars.

Personal data breach: $1.45 billion.

Chargeback/Transaction Failure Fraud: $785 million.

3. Cryptocurrency-related crimes

Most complaints: extortion (47,054 cases), investment fraud (41,557 cases).

Largest losses: Investment fraud ($5.8 billion), personal data breaches ($1.1 billion).

Main types of scams encountered by people over 4.60 years old

The types of scams with the highest number of complaints: phishing, tech support, ransomware, personal data leaks, investment scams.

Most loss-making types of scams: investment scams, tech support scams, romance scams, business email scams ( BEC ), personal data leaks.

Key Point Four: Internet Fraud and Asset Recovery

1. Overall Situation of Online Fraud

In 2024, IC3 received 333,981 complaints about online scams, resulting in a loss of $13.7 billion, accounting for 83% of the total annual losses. The main transaction methods include cryptocurrencies, wire transfers, and credit card payments.

2. Typical Fraud Methods

Call center scams: 53,369 cases, resulting in losses of 1.9 billion dollars.

Emergency scams (impersonating relatives for assistance): 357 cases, losses of 2.7 million USD.

Road toll fraud (SMS phishing): 59,271 cases, loss of $129,000.

Gold express fraud: 525 cases, losses of 219 million dollars.

3. Network Threats

263,455 network threat-related complaints caused losses of $1.571 billion. The main variants of ransomware include Akira, LockBit, RansomHub, FOG, and PLAY.

4. Asset Recovery Results

The FFKC team has processed a total of 3,020 freeze requests, with frozen funds amounting to 560 million dollars and a recovery success rate of 66%.

"Operation Level Up" ( Success Notification: 4,323 crypto scam victims, helping to recover approximately $285 million in potential losses.

Collaborating with Indian law enforcement to combat call center fraud, 215 people were arrested, an increase of 700% year-on-year.

Successfully froze and recovered multiple large sums of money in financial fraud schemes.

Key Point Five: Preventing Cryptocurrency Scams

In response to the high incidence of cryptocurrency fraud, the FBI has提出了以下防范建议:

Stay alert and avoid the temptation of high returns: investments that promise high yields with zero risk are often scams.

Verify the legitimacy of the trading platform: Use legitimate, regulated exchanges and avoid clicking on unknown links in social media advertisements.

Avoid transferring money to strangers: Do not easily trust "investment mentors" or "friends" you meet online.

Beware of cryptocurrency ATM transactions: Scammers often ask victims to make payments through ATMs, so be sure to stay vigilant.

Use two-factor authentication )2FA(: Enhance account security and prevent hacking.

Summary

The "2024 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report" released by the FBI reveals new trends in cybercrime within the current cryptocurrency asset environment: there has been a significant increase in cryptocurrency-related cases, with the elderly population aged 60 and above becoming the primary victims; the methods of fraud are highly specialized and internationalized, while cryptocurrency has become the preferred tool for criminals to launder and transfer funds.

Despite some progress in asset recovery and international law enforcement cooperation, ordinary users still need to remain highly vigilant in light of the overall scale of losses and growth trends, and effectively enhance their awareness of security precautions to avoid falling into various scam traps. For governments and financial institutions, continuously strengthening international cooperation, regulatory enforcement, and tracking the flow of funds will be key measures to curb cybercrime and improve enforcement efficiency.