New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 Billion in 2024
Cited in 2 Likelier entries (2 risks, 0 decisions).
Used in 2 entries
For each citing entry, the verbatim excerpt and Likelier's calculation notes (how the source's number was converted to the lifetime-probability framing) are shown below. Click through to read the full claim ledger.
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- Statistic
Cryptocurrency accounted for $1.42 billion in reported consumer fraud losses by payment method in 2024; Bitcoin ATM fraud losses topped $65 million in H1 2024 alone
“"Consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, which represents a 25% increase over the prior year."”
Calculation notes
FTC Consumer Sentinel data captures fraud where crypto was the payment method, a narrower slice than FBI IC3 (which counts all crypto-related fraud). The $1.42B FTC figure is a subset of the $9.3B IC3 figure. Among those who invested in crypto, approximately 15% reported finding the investment to be a scam, with a median loss of $30,000. This 15% figure informs the central estimate but covers a broader definition of "scam" than total loss.
Independence note: FTC Consumer Sentinel collects complaints from a different intake channel than FBI IC3. There is substantial overlap — some consumers report to both — but the FTC captures a broader range of consumer fraud complaints and uses different categorization.
Source date: 2025-03-06 · Accessed: 2026-04-19
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- Statistic
Investment scams were the costliest fraud category reported to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network in 2024 at $5.7 billion in consumer losses, up 24% from 2023's $4.6 billion; total reported fraud losses across all categories were $12.5 billion in 2024
“"Consumers reported losing more money to investment scams — more than $5.7 billion — than any other category in 2024. That amount represents a 24% increase over 2023." The FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network reported $12.5 billion in total fraud losses across all categories in 2024.”
Calculation notes
The FTC Consumer Sentinel figure ($5.7B investment-scam losses) is a separate reporting system from the FBI IC3 ($6.57B investment fraud losses). Both rank investment fraud as their #1 loss category for 2024 and both show double-digit year-over-year growth (FTC +24%, IC3 +21% complaint volume / +66% crypto loss). This corroborates the IC3 figures and the upward trend but is NOT used to revise the count-based per-adult victimization rate: the FTC publishes aggregate dollar losses and a median per-report loss (>$9,000), not a victim count compatible with the IC3 complaint denominator. Used as an independent authoritative second-system confirmation of scale and direction.
Independence note: The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network is an independent federal data system from the FBI IC3, drawing reports directly from consumers, state/local law enforcement, the BBB, and industry. Two independent government systems converging on the same #1 ranking and the same upward trend strengthens confidence in the direction of the estimate without altering the count-based math.
Source date: 2025-03-10 · Accessed: 2026-06-14
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