FBI: Cyber fraud surges to $17.6 billion in losses as scams, crypto theft soar

Cyber-enabled fraud accounted for the overwhelming majority of all losses reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025, with a staggering $17.6 billion stolen.

The center’s annual report, released on Monday, offers a snapshot of the law enforcement agency’s myriad efforts to combat digital threats, especially ransomware, which increasingly harm individuals, businesses and U.S. critical infrastructure. 

Cyber-enabled fraud was behind 85% of all losses reported to the hub in 2025 and constituted 45% of the 1,008,597 complaints it received overall.

Investment fraud led in total dollars lost at $8.6 billion, followed by business email compromise (BEC) scams at over $3 billion and tech support fraud at $2.1 billion. 

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Cyber Division Section Chief Taushiana Bright highlighted the ongoing scourge of ransomware, noting the agency is currently investigating over 200 ransomware variants, actors and enablers. 

Sixty-three new ransomware variants were identified last year, according to Bright, resulting in 3,611 complaints tied to more than $32 million in losses. That is an increase from 2024, where there were 3,156 complaints totaling just over $12 million regarding ransomware losses. Complaints filed to IC3 represent just a small fraction of the overall ransomware ecosystem.

“Cybercriminals have indiscriminately attacked hospitals, emergency responders, schools and entire city governments. I can't think of anything that's off limits to them,” she said.

Last year, 14 of the 16 U.S. critical infrastructure sectors were victims of ransomware attacks, Bright told reporters.

The FBI received approximately 22,000 complaints involving the use of AI, comprising roughly $893 million in reported losses, according to the annual report. It also cites cryptocurrency as a major vehicle for theft, with more than $11.3 billion in losses tied to crypto.

People 60 and older filed 201,266 complaints in 2025 and were linked to about $7.7 billion in reported losses. California, Texas and Florida once again topped the list of states with the most complaints, with Texas notching 97,912.