FBI Releases the 2024 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report: Total Losses Reach $9.3 Billion, with Individuals Aged 60 and Above Being the Most Vulnerable

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2024 Fraud Cases Result in Approximately $9.3 Billion in Losses

FBI’s “Operation Upgrade” Prevents $285 Million in Potential Losses

Global Illegal Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Reaches $41 Billion

According to reports, over 140,000 complaints related to cryptocurrency fraud were received in 2024, resulting in approximately $9.3 billion in losses. The demographic most severely affected was individuals aged 60 and above, who submitted around 33,000 complaints with losses totaling up to $2.8 billion. This group also accounted for the highest losses and complaint numbers overall in fraud and extortion cases.

The report states:

“Last year, the total losses reported to IC3 reached a historic high of an astounding $16.6 billion. Fraud was the primary source of reported losses in 2024, while ransomware once again emerged as the most prevalent threat to critical infrastructure, with complaints increasing by 9% compared to 2023.”

Compared to 2023, cryptocurrency-related losses surged from $5.6 billion to $9.3 billion, an increase of approximately 66%. The largest losses were from various forms of “cryptocurrency investment fraud,” while the most commonly reported type of fraud was “sextortion,” which typically involves threats using the victim’s photos or videos to create fake pornographic content. Additionally, other common fraud tactics included scams conducted through cryptocurrency ATMs or kiosks.

The FBI also announced in February this year that its law enforcement initiative titled “Operation Upgrade” successfully assisted potential victims in avoiding approximately $285 million in fraud losses between January 2024 and January 2025.

However, blockchain analysis company Chainalysis warned that 2025 could see unprecedented levels of fraud, primarily due to the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which makes fraudulent activities easier to scale and operate, allowing criminals to lower the threshold and reduce costs for launching attacks.

Chainalysis statistics indicate that the total volume of global illegal cryptocurrency transactions in 2024 was about $41 billion, with approximately 25% related to hacking, extortion, human trafficking, or fraud. Among the most notable cases was the theft of $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency assets from the Bybit exchange in March this year, setting a record for the highest theft in the cryptocurrency industry to date.

Despite the ongoing development of cryptocurrencies and their inclusion in reserves by some governments and institutions, significant fraud and cybersecurity challenges persist in the overall environment. As AI technology is misused by criminals, global regulatory and anti-fraud measures face increasingly daunting challenges.