FBI: Losses From Internet Crime Surged 33 Percent in 2024, Topping $16 Billion

Phishing, extortion, and data breaches led complaint volume, with older adults especially hit hard.

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks at the State Department in Washington on March 6, 2025. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Internet-enabled crime cost victims in the United States more than $16.6 billion in 2024, a record-breaking 33 percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report released by the FBI.

The data, published in the agency’s annual Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, shows that Americans filed more than 859,000 complaints last year, with more than 256,000 reporting financial losses. The average loss per incident exceeded $19,000.

“The criminals Americans face today may look different than in years past, but they still want the same thing: to harm Americans for their own benefit,” said B. Chad Yarbrough, Criminal and Cyber Operations director at the FBI. “This brings me back to IC3’s quarter-century milestone. While the top threats facing our country have certainly shifted over the decades, protecting American citizens—whether that means your safety, your money, or your data—remains a cornerstone of the FBI’s mission.”

Phishing and spoofing scams were the most frequently reported crime types, accounting for more than 193,000 complaints. Extortion was the second most common category, with more than 86,000 cases, followed by personal data breaches, which exceeded 64,000.

Investment scams caused the highest monetary damage, resulting in more than $6.5 billion in reported losses. Business email compromise ranked second with $2.77 billion in losses, followed by tech support fraud at $1.46 billion and personal data breaches at $1.45 billion.

Cryptocurrency was a common tool in online scams, referenced in 149,000 complaints with losses topping $9.3 billion—a 66 percent increase from 2023.

Adults aged 60 and older were especially hit hard, filing nearly 150,000 complaints in 2024 and reporting $4.9 billion in losses—an increase of more than 40 percent from the prior year. The most damaging schemes targeting older Americans included investment fraud, tech support scams, and romance scams. They were also the most impacted demographic in cryptocurrency-related cases, losing more than $2.8 billion.

“Reporting is one of the first and most important steps in fighting crime so law enforcement can use this information to combat a variety of frauds and scams,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The IC3, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is only as successful as the reports it receives; that’s why it’s imperative that the public immediately report suspected cyber-enabled criminal activity to the FBI.”

The FBI said it continues to expand prevention and recovery efforts through partnerships and enforcement initiatives. In one case, the agency’s Recovery Asset Team froze more than $5 million linked to a business email compromise (BEC) scam targeting a U.S. property transaction.

A business email compromise scam, or BEC, involves cybercriminals impersonating executives or trusted contacts to trick employees into transferring funds or disclosing sensitive information, according to the report. These scams often involve the use of hacked or spoofed email accounts to carry out unauthorized transactions.

The agency also credited its global collaborations with disrupting international fraud networks and dismantling major ransomware and malware operations.

The FBI emphasized that cybercriminals are constantly evolving their tactics and encouraged the public to report suspected fraud to the IC3. Since its launch 25 years ago, the center has received more than 9 million complaints.