The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed that victims in the United States lost more than $6.5 billion to investment fraud in 2024, making it the internet crime with the highest reported financial losses.
This figure was contained in the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2024 Internet Crime Report. The annual report documented a total of 859,532 complaints and over $6.5 billion in losses—an increase of 33 percent compared to 2023.
The report listed phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches as the top three most reported internet crimes. California, Texas, and Florida recorded the highest number of complaints, while individuals over the age of 60 suffered nearly $5 billion in losses and submitted the largest number of complaints.
The FBI also announced a global operation to combat financially motivated sextortion schemes operating out of Nigeria. It said it is coordinating with multiple law enforcement partners to conduct Operation Artemis—a surge of resources and personnel to Nigeria to address the high rate of sextortion related suicides attributed to Nigerian perpetrators.
It noted that as a result of Operation Artemis, FBI investigations led to the arrests of 22 Nigerian subjects connected to financially motivated sextortion schemes.
Of those 22 subjects, approximately half were directly linked to victims who took their own lives. FBI said the operation marks a significant step in the fight against child exploitation and brings justice and accountability to international perpetrators hiding anonymously behind screens.
“Reporting is one of the first and most important steps in fighting crime so law enforcement can use this information to combat a variety of frauds and scams,” said FBI Director, Kash Patel.
“The IC3, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is only as successful as the reports it receives; that’s why it’s imperative that the public immediately report suspected cyber-enabled criminal activity to the FBI.”
The IC3, launched in May 2000, now has a database of over nine million complaints. It continues to urge the public to report cyber-related crimes through its official website, regardless of the financial loss.
The FBI also recorded a significant rise in sextortion-related crimes. Between October 2024 and March 2025, the number of tips rose by 30 percent.
IC3 recorded more than 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 the previous year. Most of the victims were boys aged between 14 and 17.
The Bureau advises victims of internet crimes to contact all financial institutions involved, report through and reach out to both local police and the nearest FBI field office.
