Cryptocurrency fraud increased by 45% in 2023 to $5.6 billion - FBI

Consumers lost more than $5.6 billion last year through cryptocurrency-related fraud, according to an estimate from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations — a 45% jump from 2022.

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received nearly 69,500 complaints from consumers in the US and abroad last year, according to a report published Monday. While the number of cryptocurrency-related complaints represented about 10% of the total number of financial fraud complaints, associated losses added up to almost 50% of the total losses, according to the report.

Following a crypto market downturn in 2022, token prices began to rally last year, triggering renewed interest from criminals. Bitcoin more than doubled last year, and has risen about 35% in 2024.

“As the use of cryptocurrency in the global financial system continues to grow, so too does its use by criminal actors,” Michael Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, wrote in the report.

Use of cryptocurrency by criminals was most pervasive in investment scams, where losses accounted for almost 71% of the total, according to the report. Call center frauds, such as government impersonation scams, accounted for about 10% of cryptocurrency losses.