The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is detailing the rising scale and complexity of cryptocurrency fraud schemes.
In its newly released Cryptocurrency Fraud Report for 2023, the FBI says its Internet Crime Complaint Center received 69,468 complaints involving crypto assets last year.
According to the FBI, the reported losses amounted to more than $5.6 billion, a 45% rise relative to 2022.
“Criminal actors exploit cryptocurrencies for all schemes, to include tech support, confidence and romance, investment, and government impersonation scams. Investment fraud was the most reported cryptocurrency scheme in 2023 and also saw the most reported losses, with about $3.9 billion lost.”
The most vulnerable demographic was the over-60 age group, reporting over 16,000 crypto-related complaints and incurring more than $1.6 billion in losses in 2023.
California, Florida and Texas were the worst-affected states, recording the highest number of complaints and witnessing the largest losses.
According to the FBI, criminals exploit cryptocurrency due to its decentralized nature, the irrevocability of transactions and the significant challenges that arise when following funds.
The FBI Director, Chris Wray, says,
“Scams targeting investors who use cryptocurrency are skyrocketing in severity and complexity. The best way to help stop these crimes is for people to report them to ic3.gov [Internet Crime Complaint Center website], even if they did not suffer a financial loss. The information allows us to stay on top of emerging schemes and criminals’ use of the latest technologies, so we can keep the American public informed and go after those who commit these crimes.”
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