Cryptocurrency accounted for more than half of all scam losses reported to the FBI last year, totaling $11.37 billion, according to a new report from the Consumer Federation of America, which estimates the true cost at $80.7 billion after adjusting for unreported fraud.

The nonprofit association said its estimate is based on FBI data showing that reported crypto scam losses rose 22% from 2024. To calculate the larger figure, CFA applied a 7.1x multiplier derived from a 2017 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey that found only 14% of fraud victims report incidents to law enforcement.

An updated report from CFA projects that #Americans are losing an estimated $148.2 billion every year to #OnlineScams . Over half of all reported losses involved #Crypto #ScamEconomy — Consumer Federation of America (@ConsumerFed) July 28, 2026

CFA said it applies the same 7.1x multiplier across every category in its report and described the method as conservative. Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, told Decrypt in April that the FBI figure is "an important benchmark" that "captures only part of the picture," based on a similar assumption that around 15% of victims report fraud.

Investment fraud was the largest single category in the report, with $8.6 billion in reported losses and an estimated $61.4 billion after CFA’s adjustment, up 32% from 2024.

Across all categories, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 1,008,597 complaints and $20.9 billion in reported losses, a 26% increase. CFA said its methodology scales that figure to $148.2 billion, or about $1,009 per household.

Americans over 60 lost $4.4 billion to crypto fraud alone, representing nearly 40% of the total, according to the report. The FBI also counted AI-enabled crime separately for the first time, recording $893 million across 22,364 complaints, underscoring how newer tactics are being tracked alongside more established schemes.

The cases behind the numbers

The report pointed to enforcement efforts ranging from warnings to asset seizures. The FBI said its Operation Level Up, which contacts potential victims before they send money, has notified 8,000 victims and prevented $500 million in losses, including $225.9 million last year.

The figure covers both domestic and international fraud cases. Last year, an Oklahoma man was sentenced to five years in prison over a $9.4 million crypto Ponzi scheme. U.S. law enforcement has also increasingly focused on overseas fraudsters, including through a Scam Center Task Force established last year 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 worth $15 billion, from Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi in connection with forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia, in what it described as the largest forfeiture action in its history. Prince Group has denied involvement in scam operations.

CFA has also sued Meta over scam advertising, and the report said Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are the platforms most associated with scams. That focus reflects how fraud now spans social platforms, messaging apps and crypto-themed investment pitches, making platform policing a recurring issue for regulators and consumer advocates. "Tech companies are too often allowed to avoid accountability," said Ben Winters, CFA’s director of AI and privacy, citing the bipartisan SCAM Act, which would bar online platforms from displaying fraudulent or deceptive advertising.