In its first-ever Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, the FBI revealed that individuals aged 60 and older filed over 16,000 complaints, reporting more than $1.6 billion in losses due to cryptocurrency scams.
In 2023, cryptocurrency fraud victims in the U.S. reported total losses of $5.6 billion, with older Americans suffering the greatest impact, according to the FBI. The report, released on Monday, detailed over 69,000 complaints from people who had been scammed into sending cryptocurrency to criminals, often through widely available crypto ATMs.
Among those complaints, people aged 60 and older reported the highest losses, filing over 16,000 claims and losing more than $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, the youngest group—those under 20—filed 858 complaints, totaling almost $15 million in losses.
The scams ranged from fake tech support and extortion schemes to fraudsters impersonating government officials. Investment scams, primarily known as “pig butchering” schemes, accounted for nearly $4 billion of the reported losses—a 53% increase from the $2.57 billion reported in 2022.
In pig butchering scams, fraudsters create fake personas and build long-term romantic or friendly relationships with their victims, ultimately convincing them to invest their savings in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms.
“These schemes promise large returns with minimal risk,” the FBI report noted. The rising popularity of cryptocurrency as an investment, combined with the fear of missing out, has opened the door for criminals to exploit those unfamiliar with the technology and its risks.
A representative from Chainalysis, a firm specializing in tracking cryptocurrency transactions, explained that pig butchering scams were the most profitable form of cyber fraud in 2023, with the average victim losing nearly $5,000.
Amy Nofziger, fraud victim support director at AARP, pointed out that older people are frequent targets because they tend to hold more wealth and are often less familiar with emerging technologies like cryptocurrency. “While $5.6 billion is a substantial loss, the actual figure is likely higher due to unreported cases,” Nofziger added.
The report also highlighted that most victims who were defrauded through cryptocurrency kiosks, commonly referred to as “bitcoin ATMs,” were over 60. These machines allow users to deposit cash for Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, making it easier for scammers to exploit those unfamiliar with the technology. Scammers often provide victims with a QR code and instruct them to deposit cash into the kiosk, facilitating the fraudulent transactions.
While Western law enforcement rarely arrests the perpetrators of such scams, a United Nations report last year found that many pig butchering scams are run by human trafficking victims in Southeast Asia. However, in December, federal prosecutors arrested four men, three in Southern California and one in Chicago, for allegedly stealing over $80 million in a pig butchering operation.