FROM THE BLOG

Each spring, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (better known as IC3) releases a yearbook of online scams. The 2024 report reads like a cautionary tale for all of us. Americans filed 859,532 complaints last year, and the money lost set a new record: an estimated $16.6 billion, up roughly a third from 2023. Among complaints that actually reported a loss, the average hit was about $19,372.

What stands out is who’s getting hurt and how. Older adults (60+) reported the heaviest losses, about $4.885 billion across 147,127 complaints, and roughly 7,500 of them lost more than $100,000 each. That’s a staggering human and financial toll, and a reminder that fraudsters tailor their pitch to whoever will listen (and click).

If 2023 was the year crypto crept into everything, 2024 showed it’s fully entrenched. Complaints referencing cryptocurrency reached 149,686, with reported losses of about $9.3 billion. The single largest cohort reporting crypto-linked losses? Again, those over 60. Within that, crypto investment schemes were a major driver, with 41,557 complaints totaling $5.8 billion in losses; evidence that “can’t-miss” trading apps and VIP groups are still luring people into sophisticated, phony platforms.

The report also reminds us that not every digital threat starts with an “investment.” Cyber‑enabled fraud, the broad category covering scams that use the Internet to steal money or identities, accounts for the vast majority of losses captured by IC3. Think call‑center cons, social‑media impostors, fake customer support pop‑ups, and “urgent” texts about deliveries, tolls, or taxes.

Small businesses and community organizations aren’t spared. Cyber threats generated hundreds of thousands of complaints and over a billion dollars in losses, and ransomware remained a persistent headache for critical infrastructure, with the most reported variants including names like Akira, LockBit, RansomHub, FOG, and PLAY. Even those names sound designed to keep an IT director up at night.

It’s not all bad news. There is a playbook for stopping fraudulent wires, and it works when victims act fast. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team coordinates with banks through the Financial Fraud Kill Chain. In 2024, they engaged on thousands of complaints involving roughly $848 million in attempted theft and froze funds in about two‑thirds of the cases they touched (domestic and international combined). In one example, a spoofed real‑estate email diverted $956,342, and the Kill Chain helped stop $955,060 before it vanished.

So what does all this mean for everyday readers? First, pace yourself whenever money moves. Nearly every modern scam uses the same three levers: urgency, secrecy, and unusual payment rails (wires, crypto, gift cards). If you feel pressured to act now and told not to talk to your bank, spouse, or IT team, you’re being isolated on purpose. Hang up, close the pop‑up, or step away from the text, and call a trusted number you look up yourself. That single pause prevents many disasters reflected in IC3’s totals.

Second, treat “support” pop‑ups and inbound calls as hostile until proven otherwise. Banks, brokerages, the FBI; none of them will ask you to move funds to a “safe account.” If anyone instructs you to buy crypto or gift cards to fix a problem, that is the problem. This aligns with IC3’s breakdown of cyber‑enabled fraud and the rise in call‑center and tech‑support‑style schemes targeting older adults.

Third, if a wire has already gone out, minutes matter. Call your bank immediately and file at IC3.gov. The Kill Chain statistics show that rapid reporting can make the difference between a total loss and a recovery.

Finally, bolster your everyday defenses: set up account alerts and multi‑factor authentication, use a password manager, and consider a credit freeze for your household. These basics won’t stop every scam, but they reduce the blast radius when something slips through; exactly the kind of risk‑management posture IC3 urges as it catalogs both the criminal playbook and the tools we have to fight back. The FBI’s own plea is simple: report what you see; those reports help protect others.

Bottom line: 2024’s IC3 report is a wake‑up call. Losses are rising, older Americans are bearing a disproportionate share, and crypto‑flavored fraud remains a powerful lure. But a skeptical pause, smarter defaults, and prompt reporting can, and often do, turn the tide.

Until next time,

Shawn Baxter, CAMS, IACCP®
Chief Compliance Officer

Posted by Prospera Financial