The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 201,000 complaints from Americans aged 60 and older in 2025, and the financial damage those complaints describe is difficult to absorb: $7.7 billion lost to internet crime, a 59% increase over the prior year, according to the bureau’s annual report released earlier this year. Investment fraud drove the largest share, accounting for $3.5 billion of the total. The average older investment-fraud victim lost more than $38,500, enough to erase years of retirement saving in a single scheme.
FBI officials have acknowledged that the real victim count is far higher. Many older adults never file a complaint, either because they do not recognize what happened as a crime, feel too ashamed to report it, or contact only a local police department whose records may never reach the federal database.
Where the losses fit in the national picture
Total internet-crime losses across all age groups reached roughly $16.6 billion in 2025, according to IC3. That means adults 60 and older, while representing a smaller share of the online population, shouldered about 46% of all reported dollar losses. Cryptocurrency-based schemes and tactics enhanced by artificial intelligence were flagged as key accelerants. The bureau noted that scammers deployed deepfake video calls, AI-generated phishing messages, and convincing replica trading apps to build trust and move money faster than victims or their financial institutions could intervene.
The trajectory has been steep. Elder internet-crime losses have climbed in each of the last several IC3 reporting cycles, and the 2025 jump marks the sharpest year-over-year increase the bureau has documented for this age group. Federal investigators point to a combination of factors: large retirement balances concentrated in accessible accounts, less familiarity with rapidly evolving digital platforms, and social isolation that leaves fewer people in a position to raise an alarm before money moves.
How the scams work in practice
The FBI has outlined how criminals systematically target older adults through a small set of repeating playbooks:
- “Pig butchering” (investment-romance hybrids): A stranger initiates contact through social media or a dating app, cultivates a relationship over weeks, then steers the victim toward a fraudulent cryptocurrency or forex platform. The victim watches fabricated gains climb on a polished dashboard and is encouraged to invest more. When they attempt to withdraw, the money and the supposed adviser disappear.
- Tech-support takeovers: A pop-up warning or unsolicited phone call claims the victim’s computer has been compromised. The scammer gains remote access under the guise of a virus cleanup, then pivots to draining bank and brokerage accounts.
- Government-impersonation schemes: Callers pose as IRS agents, Social Security officials, or federal marshals, demanding immediate payment in cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or gift cards to resolve a fabricated legal issue.
In many of these cases, victims are migrated from mainstream platforms to encrypted messaging apps where pressure intensifies and outside voices are cut off. By the time a family member or banker raises a concern, significant funds have already been wired overseas.
Federal enforcement and early intervention
One of the FBI’s most visible responses is Operation Level Up, a program that attempts to reach fraud victims while a scheme is still in progress. Rather than waiting for a complaint, agents identify potential victims through investigative leads, warn them before they send additional money, and coordinate with financial institutions to freeze or reverse transfers when possible. The FBI has said the program contacted more than 4,300 potential victims in 2025 and estimates it helped prevent roughly $285 million in additional losses.
The Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative has also cataloged criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions against alleged fraudsters, including operators of bogus trading platforms, romance-investment rings, and tech-support crews whose initial contact escalated into full account takeovers.
State-level efforts are expanding as well. The FBI’s Anchorage field office, for instance, released a supplement showing record-breaking losses among older Alaskans broken down by scam type. Alaska is a small state, but the data illustrates how even a limited population can absorb millions in harm once sophisticated online schemes take hold.
Significant gaps in the data
Despite the headline figures, important questions remain unanswered. IC3’s public data does not break the $3.5 billion investment-fraud total into subcategories such as token-based schemes, stablecoin fraud, or deepfake-driven impersonation. That distinction matters because the policy response to a fake trading app differs substantially from the response to an AI-generated video call impersonating a victim’s financial adviser.
Operation Level Up’s $285 million prevention estimate, while notable, has not been independently verified, and the bureau has not disclosed how consistently banks cooperated with freeze requests or how much money was ultimately recovered and returned to victims. Without those numbers, it is hard to gauge whether the program is meaningfully reducing net losses or primarily documenting them.
The cross-border dimension remains opaque. Federal reports reference international cooperation but omit specifics on where stolen funds end up, how frequently extraditions are pursued, or which foreign jurisdictions are most commonly involved. And geographic breakdowns within the United States are inconsistent: Alaska has an official supplement, but comparable state-level reports for high-population states like California, Texas, and Florida are not widely available as of July 2026.
Concrete steps for protection
The FBI and consumer-protection agencies recommend several specific measures for older adults and the people who look out for them:
- Treat unsolicited investment pitches as suspect. Legitimate advisers do not cold-message strangers on social media or dating apps with trading tips.
- Verify before sending money. Independently confirm any investment platform by checking the SEC’s EDGAR database or FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool. If a platform is not registered, do not invest.
- Never grant remote computer access based on a pop-up alert or unsolicited phone call. Hang up and contact the company directly using a number you locate yourself.
- Break the silence. Scammers depend on secrecy and shame. If something feels wrong, talk to a trusted family member, friend, or banker before transferring any funds.
- Report losses quickly. File a complaint at ic3.gov. Early reporting gives law enforcement the best chance of tracing and freezing stolen money.
Why the official numbers almost certainly undercount the damage
The $7.7 billion figure, as stark as it is, likely represents only a portion of the actual losses. Researchers who study elder fraud have long noted that reported figures capture a fraction of the real total. Some victims are embarrassed. Others do not understand that what happened qualifies as a crime. Many report only to a local police department or their bank, and those records do not always flow into IC3’s federal database.
For families, the practical takeaway is straightforward: the conversation about digital safety is no longer something to put off. It belongs alongside every other piece of financial planning, from estate documents to healthcare directives. And for policymakers, the 59% year-over-year surge should serve as a signal that current prevention and enforcement efforts, while growing, have not yet caught up with the scale of the problem.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
