SlowMist Analysis | FBI Releases Annual Internet Crime Report
Author: Lisa
Editor: Sherry
In April 2025, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released the 2024 IC3 Annual Report. Based on data collected by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) throughout 2024, the report analyzes the number of crypto-related complaints, scale of financial losses, victim demographics, types of crimes, and progress in asset recovery. This article summarizes the report’s key findings to help readers quickly grasp the evolving trends and improve their awareness and prevention capabilities against complex cybersecurity threats.
Key Point 1: 2024 Complaint Data
1. Overall Situation
In 2024, IC3 received a total of 859,532 complaints, resulting in $16.6 billion in actual losses — a 33% increase compared to 2023. Of these, 256,256 complaints involved real financial losses, with an average loss of $19,372 per case. Around 83% of total losses stemmed from online fraud.
2. Cryptocurrency-Specific Cases
Complaints involving cryptocurrencies reached 149,686 cases, causing $9.3 billion in losses — a 66% year-on-year increase in monetary loss. Among victims, the 60+ age group accounted for the largest proportion.
3. Victims Aged 60 and Above
This demographic submitted 147,127 complaints, reporting a total loss of $4.885 billion. Complaints rose by 46%, and losses by 43% compared to the previous year. Notably, 7,500 individuals reported losses exceeding $100,000, with an average loss of $83,000.
Key Point 2: Victim Demographics
1. Age Distribution Overview
- Under 20: 17,993 complaints, $22.5 million in losses
- Age 20–29: 71,399 complaints, $540.1 million in losses
- Age 30–39: 108,899 complaints, $1.4 billion in losses
- Age 40–49: 112,755 complaints, $2.2 billion in losses
- Age 50–59: 84,540 complaints, $2.5 billion in losses
- Age 60 and above: 147,127 complaints, $4.8 billion in losses
2. Cryptocurrency Victim Demographics
In cryptocurrency investment scams, the 60+ age group had the highest number of complaints (8,043), with losses totaling $1.6 billion, far exceeding any other age group. This is due to a lack of scam awareness and unfamiliarity with newer payment methods such as crypto ATMs, making them a prime target (2,674 cases, $107,206,251 in losses). They also reported the highest number of cases in extortion and sextortion scams (20,445 complaints, $724,288,735 in losses).
Key Point 3: Crime Type Analysis
1. By Number of Complaints
- Phishing/Spoofing: 193,407 cases
- Extortion: 86,415 cases
- Personal Data Breach: 64,882 cases
- Non-Payment/Non-Delivery: 49,572 cases
- Investment: 47,919 cases
2. By Compliant Lost
- Investment: $6.57 billion
- Business Email Compromise (BEC): $2.77 billion
- Tech Support: $1.46 billion
- Personal Data Breach: $1.45 billion
- Non-Payment/Non-Delivery: $785 million
3. Crypto-Related Crimes
- Most Reported: Extortion (47,054 cases), Investment (41,557 cases)
- Largest Losses: Investment ($5.8 billion), Personal Data Breach ($1.1 billion)
4. Top Scams Affecting the 60+ Age Group
- Most Common by Complaint Count: Phishing, Tech Support, Extortion, Personal Data Breach, Investment
- Highest Financial Losses: Investment, Tech Support, Confidence/Romance, Business Email Compromise, Personal Data Breach
Key Point 4: Online Fraud and Asset Recovery
1. Overall Online Fraud
In 2024, IC3 received 333,981 online fraud complaints, leading to $13.7 billion in losses — 83% of the year’s total losses. Primary payment methods included cryptocurrency, wire transfers, and credit card payments.
2. Common Scam Tactics
- Call Center Scams: 53,369 cases, $1.9 billion in losses
- Emergency Scams (posing as relatives): 357 cases, $2.7 million in losses
- Toll Scams: 59,271 cases, $129,000 in losses
- Gold Courier Scams: 525 cases, $219 million in losses
3. Cyber Threats
There were 263,455 cyber threat-related complaints, causing $1.571 billion in losses. Major ransomware variants included Akira, LockBit, RansomHub, FOG, PLAY.
4. Asset Recovery Achievements
- The FFKC team handled 3,020 asset freeze requests, freezing $560 million in funds, with a 66% recovery success rate.
- “Operation Level Up” successfully alerted 4,323 crypto scam victims, helping prevent $285 million in potential losses.
- In collaboration with Indian law enforcement, 215 suspects were arrested in call center scams — a 700% increase year-over-year.
- Several large transactions in financial fraud cases were successfully frozen and recovered.
Key Point 5: How to Prevent Cryptocurrency Scams
In response to the surge in crypto fraud, the FBI offered the following prevention tips:
- Stay alert and skeptical of high-return promises: If an investment claims high returns with zero risk, it’s likely a scam.
- Verify the legitimacy of platforms: Use reputable, regulated exchanges and avoid clicking on suspicious links in social media ads.
- Never transfer funds to strangers: Don’t trust “investment coaches” or online “friends” who approach you out of the blue.
- Be cautious with crypto ATM transactions: Scammers often direct victims to make payments via crypto ATMs — be extra vigilant.
- Use two-factor authentication (2FA): Enhance account security and prevent hacking attempts.
Conclusion
The 2024 IC3 Annual Report reveals new trends in cybercrime within the crypto asset landscape: a dramatic increase in crypto-related cases, with seniors aged 60+ being the primary victims; increasingly professional and globalized scam tactics; and the growing use of cryptocurrency as a key tool for laundering and transferring illicit funds.
While there has been some progress in asset recovery and cross-border law enforcement cooperation, the scale and growth rate of losses suggest that ordinary users must remain highly vigilant. Raising awareness and improving personal cybersecurity practices is critical to avoiding scams. For governments and financial institutions, enhancing international collaboration, regulatory enforcement, and fund flow tracking will be crucial in curbing cybercrime and boosting effectiveness in combating fraud.
Previous article: Analysis of The FBI 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report
About SlowMist
SlowMist is a blockchain security firm established in January 2018. The firm was started by a team with over ten years of network security experience to become a global force. Our goal is to make the blockchain ecosystem as secure as possible for everyone. We are now a renowned international blockchain security firm that has worked on various well-known projects such as HashKey Exchange, OSL, MEEX, BGE, BTCBOX, Bitget, BHEX.SG, OKX, Binance, HTX, Amber Group, Crypto.com, etc.
SlowMist offers a variety of services that include but are not limited to security audits, threat information, defense deployment, security consultants, and other security-related services. We also offer AML (Anti-money laundering) software, MistEye (Security Monitoring) , SlowMist Hacked (Crypto hack archives), FireWall.x (Smart contract firewall) and other SaaS products. We have partnerships with domestic and international firms such as Akamai, BitDefender, RC², TianJi Partners, IPIP, etc. Our extensive work in cryptocurrency crime investigations has been cited by international organizations and government bodies, including the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
By delivering a comprehensive security solution customized to individual projects, we can identify risks and prevent them from occurring. Our team was able to find and publish several high-risk blockchain security flaws. By doing so, we could spread awareness and raise the security standards in the blockchain ecosystem.
