The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has reported that Americans lost $9.3 billion to cryptocurrency fraud in 2024, highlighting the vulnerability of individuals over 60, who accounted for approximately $2.8 billion of these losses. The report, issued on April 23, documented over 140,000 complaints regarding cryptocurrency-related scams, with the most significant losses attributed to crypto investment schemes. At the same time, 'sextortion' schemes generated the highest number of complaints, typically involving the manipulation of personal images or videos. The IC3 noted a surge in total reported fraud losses to $16.6 billion in 2024, representing a 9% uptick in complaints relative to 2023. A prior FBI initiative, 'Operation Level Up,' identified $285 million in fraud between January 2024 and January 2025. The growing role of sophisticated technologies, including generative AI, is believed to make scams more scalable and easier to execute by malicious actors. Additionally, the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported a staggering $41 billion in illicit crypto transactions in 2024, with scams representing a notable portion of these activities.

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