The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation says crypto scams in the country surged by 45% since last year, and Americans lost over $5.6 billion to crypto scams in 2023.

The FBI report, released on September 9, disclosed that Americans lost over $5.6 billion to crypto scams in 2023.

It also stated that its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 69,000 complaints related to crypto fraud in 2023, accounting for nearly 50% of all financial fraud losses reported.

The FBI added that investment scams were the most prevalent, with victims losing an estimated $3.96 billion, noting that “call centre fraud and government impersonation scams followed, contributing 10% of the total tally.”

The report also revealed that individuals over 60 were disproportionately affected, accounting for the highest number of complaints and losses totaling $1.6 billion.

The most affected demographic, according to the FBI, were individuals over 60, who reported the highest number of complaints. This demographic collectively lost $1.6 billion.

The FBI report read, “Dear Reader: As the use of cryptocurrency in the global financial system continues to grow, so too does its use by criminal actors. In 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 69,000 complaints from the public regarding financial fraud involving the use of cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, ether, or tether. Estimated losses with a nexus to cryptocurrency totaled more than $5.6 billion. While the number of cryptocurrency-related complaints represents only about 10 percent of the total financial fraud complaints, the losses associated with these complaints account for almost 50 percent of the total losses.

“Complaints filed in 2023 show that criminal actors exploit cryptocurrencies in each scheme category tracked by IC3. The exploitation of cryptocurrency was most pervasive in investment scams, where losses accounted for almost 71 percent of all losses related to cryptocurrency. Call centre frauds, including tech/customer support scams and government impersonation scams, accounted for about 10 percent of losses associated with cryptocurrency.”