The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded 69,468 complaints involving cryptocurrency and $5.6 billion in reported losses for 2023. Losses were 45% higher than in 2022, with investment fraud accounting for the largest share. These figures describe complaints submitted to IC3, not a complete count of every scam or every person who lost money.
What the FBI’s $5.6 billion figure measures
The FBI’s 2024 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report summarizes more than 69,000 complaints and more than $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency-related losses. Its data graphic specifies 69,468 complaints. The report says reported losses rose 45% from 2022.
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These are losses reported to IC3 in complaints involving cryptocurrency—not a verified census of Americans’ losses or a count of unique victims. Some people may submit more than one complaint, and the reported location depends on information supplied. The totals are a point-in-time assessment and may change as complaints are updated.
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Investment fraud was the largest category in the report: $3.96 billion in reported losses in 2023, compared with $2.57 billion in 2022, a 53% increase. That category is part of the overall $5.6 billion total; the total also includes other complaint types and descriptors.
#1 Best Overall
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| Measure or category | 2023 reported figure | Context |
|---|---|---|
| All cryptocurrency-related complaints | 69,468 | Complaint count in the FBI/IC3 report’s data graphic. |
| All cryptocurrency-related losses | $5.6 billion | Reported losses; 45% higher than in 2022. |
| Investment fraud | $3.96 billion | Reported losses, up from $2.57 billion in 2022, a 53% increase. |
| Cryptocurrency-kiosk-related complaints | More than 5,500 complaints; more than $189 million in reported losses | Kiosk complaints may also involve other transaction types. |
| Complainants over 60 whose complaints referenced cryptocurrency | $1.648 billion | Aggregate reported losses; this does not establish comparative victimization or reporting rates by age. |
The report also describes technology-support, personal-data-breach, confidence or romance, and government-impersonation complaints involving cryptocurrency. Those categories and descriptors are not interchangeable, and the figures above should not be added together unless the report explicitly treats them as separate totals.
How a common crypto investment scam works
- Build trust: A scammer may approach through a dating app, social platform, professional network, or encrypted messaging service and cultivate an online relationship.
- Introduce an investment: The person steers the target toward a purported cryptocurrency opportunity, often on a site or app controlled by the criminals.
- Show fabricated gains: The platform may display fictitious profits. A small early withdrawal may be allowed to make the operation seem credible.
- Demand more money: When the victim tries to withdraw a larger balance, the operator may demand a supposed tax or fee first. Paying does not ensure the funds will be released.
The FBI also describes a liquidity-mining variation in which scammers promised returns of 1% to 3% per day, persuaded victims to connect a wallet to a fraudulent app, and then drained it. Those figures were scam promises, not credible or endorsed investment returns.
Rank #2
- Proven security at scale: Over 9 years and millions of cards issued with no known remote hacks, while military‑grade EAL6+ security keeps your private keys locked inside the chip. Your cryptocurrencies stay strongly protected from online attackers.
- Tap once to manage your entire crypto wallet across 90 blockchains - no USB cables or Bluetooth, no batteries, no setup. Access 14,100+ coins & tokens, DeFi, NFTs, and staking instantly from your phone
- Smart backup: Use your second Tangem Wallet as your Backup keys with end‑to‑end encryption; no more papers, pictures. If one card is lost, the remaining can still restore full access, with an optional seed phrase available for advanced users.
- Engineered to last up to 25 years: Waterproof (IP69K), shockproof and tested for extreme temperatures from −25°C to 50°C. A durable cold wallet with long‑term protection and independently audited security.
- Trusted by 6 million users worldwide (4.9 App Store, 4.8 Google Play) - buy, sell, swap, stake, and spend cryptocurrency directly. The secure offline storage wallet designed for how people actually use crypto wallets
Warning signs to take seriously
- An online-only acquaintance, caller, or purported official pressures you to invest or pay urgently.
- Someone promises guaranteed or unusually high returns, or says you must pay a tax or fee before withdrawing supposed profits.
- A stranger coaches you to withdraw cash and send cryptocurrency through a kiosk to an address or QR code they provide. The FBI says no legitimate law-enforcement or government official will demand payment through a cryptocurrency kiosk.
- A website, app, email domain, or wallet connection cannot be independently verified.
- Someone claiming to recover stolen cryptocurrency demands an upfront fee, claims a law-enforcement affiliation, or keeps asking for additional payments.
What to do if you sent cryptocurrency
- Stop sending money. Do not pay additional “taxes,” release fees, or recovery charges. Crypto transfers are fast and irrevocable; recipients may move funds quickly, and reporting does not guarantee recovery.
- Preserve transaction and contact details. Save wallet addresses, transaction hashes, amounts and currency types, dates and times, messages, platform or website names, domains, phone numbers, and other identifiers.
- Submit a report to IC3. Use the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FBI encourages reporting even when no money was lost; prompt, accurate details can assist law-enforcement investigations.
- Verify any follow-up independently. If someone claims to represent an agency or company, find its public contact information yourself and call that number rather than using details supplied by the caller or message.
Can stolen cryptocurrency be recovered?
Do not assume a private recovery service can retrieve funds. The FBI warns that recovery scammers target people who have already been defrauded, often through social media, messages, comments, or search results. Private-sector recovery companies cannot issue legal orders to seize cryptocurrency. Be especially wary of upfront fees and repeated requests for money.
Reporting promptly is useful, but neither a report nor a recovery firm can promise that a transfer will be reversed or funds returned. Michael D. Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, wrote in the report: “Rapid and accurate complaint reporting are key to assisting law enforcement in investigating fraud schemes that exploit cryptocurrencies.”
Quick Recap
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Rank #3
- Quality Materials: these crypto wallets are made of aluminum with a melting point of over 2500 degrees Fahrenheit and can serve you for a long time
- Products quantity: you will receive a 2-in-1 set of steel bitcoin wallets with matching lock screws, and 1 piece of metal plate marking pen, which is a matching set to help you protect your codes, passwords, and further importantly, your cryptocurrency
- Functions: with these steel crypto wallets you can record information such as fieldworks passphrase in tandem with the BIP39 word list, and they are also compatible with 12 or 24-word seed in most languages, suitable to store your private cryptocurrency information or for many instances where you may need a private cold storage system
- Suitable size: the cold wallet backups are compatible with BIP39 wallets, can work with most hardware wallets, supports up to 24 mnemonics seed phrases, convenient for you to use in coordination with other crypto seed storage devices and wallets
- Multiple ways of locking: you can use the matching screws to lock up the steel bitcoin wallets; You can also lock them up and hide them in other places if you still feel unsafe; The hole on the bitcoin wallet measures 6 mm/ 0.24 inch in diameter, suitable for hanging
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