The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report reveals that cyber-enabled fraud cost Americans nearly $21 billion last year, driven primarily by investment schemes and the emergence of AI-powered scams.

Key Points

• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received over one million total complaints, marking a significant increase from the previous year.
• Investment fraud remains the most costly category, accounting for nearly 49% of all reported financial losses.
• Cryptocurrency-related scams were the primary driver of losses, totaling more than $11 billion across 181,565 individual complaints.
• Artificial intelligence scams, including voice cloning and deepfake videos, resulted in $893 million in losses across 22,364 reported incidents.
• Common tactics used by scammers include creating false urgency through fake transaction receipts, bank account alerts, and impersonation of family members.

Why it Matters

This report highlights a critical shift in the digital threat landscape as sophisticated AI tools make it easier for criminals to deceive victims through realistic impersonations. As financial losses reach record highs, the FBI’s emphasis on verifying urgent requests through secondary channels has become an essential practice for personal cybersecurity.