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Uptime Report Research · FBI IC3 data, 2016 to 2025

FBI Internet Crime Report 2025 (IC3 Report): Losses Grew 14x in a Decade, and the Average Complaint Now Costs Four Times More

The FBI’s IC3 report for 2025, the Internet Crime Report released in April 2026, counts 1,008,597 complaints and $20.877 billion in reported losses, up 26% on 2024. Across ten annual reports, losses grew about 14 times while complaints grew 3.4 times, so the average complaint now carries $20,699 in losses, 4 times the 2016 level.

1.01Mcomplaints in 2025, the first year above one million
$20.88Breported losses, 2025 (14x 2016)
$20,699loss per complaint, up from $5,021 in 2016
37%of all losses reported by people 60+, up from 23%
58%of attempted thefts frozen by IC3’s Recovery Asset Team, down from 82% in 2020

We downloaded every IC3 annual report from 2016 to 2025 as PDF from ic3.gov, parsed the crime type, state and age tables with code, and checked the parsed values against the totals and charts printed elsewhere in the same reports. Then we added Census Bureau population estimates to rank every state per resident, and lined the ten years up so the category renames do not break the trend.

Ten years of IC3 data: complaints more than tripled, losses rose 14 times

1x5x10x15x20162017201820192020202120222023202420252016: reported losses $1.5 billion (1.0x 2016)2017: reported losses $1.4 billion (0.9x 2016)2018: reported losses $2.7 billion (1.8x 2016)2019: reported losses $3.5 billion (2.3x 2016)2020: reported losses $4.2 billion (2.8x 2016)2021: reported losses $6.9 billion (4.6x 2016)2022: reported losses $10.3 billion (6.9x 2016)2023: reported losses $12.5 billion (8.3x 2016)2024: reported losses $16.6 billion (11.1x 2016)2025: reported losses $20.9 billion (13.9x 2016)Reported losses 13.9x2016: loss per complaint $5,021 (1.0x 2016)2017: loss per complaint $4,642 (0.9x 2016)2018: loss per complaint $7,672 (1.5x 2016)2019: loss per complaint $7,489 (1.5x 2016)2020: loss per complaint $5,304 (1.1x 2016)2021: loss per complaint $8,143 (1.6x 2016)2022: loss per complaint $12,860 (2.6x 2016)2023: loss per complaint $14,198 (2.8x 2016)2024: loss per complaint $19,372 (3.9x 2016)2025: loss per complaint $20,699 (4.1x 2016)Loss per complaint 4.1x2016: complaints 298,728 (1.0x 2016)2017: complaints 301,580 (1.0x 2016)2018: complaints 351,937 (1.2x 2016)2019: complaints 467,361 (1.6x 2016)2020: complaints 791,790 (2.7x 2016)2021: complaints 847,376 (2.8x 2016)2022: complaints 800,944 (2.7x 2016)2023: complaints 880,418 (2.9x 2016)2024: complaints 859,532 (2.9x 2016)2025: complaints 1,008,597 (3.4x 2016)Complaints 3.4x

Each line is indexed to 2016 = 1x. Hover a point for the published value. Losses are IC3’s published annual totals (rounded to $0.1 billion except 2025); loss per complaint for 2024 and 2025 is IC3’s own average, earlier years are losses divided by complaints.

Complaints grew from 298,728 in 2016 to 1,008,597 in 2025. The jump was not steady: complaints went from 467,361 in 2019 to 791,790 in 2020, then stayed between 800,944 and 880,418 until 2025. Losses rose every year after 2017, so the money per complaint is what changed most: $5,304 in 2020, $12,860 in 2022 and $20,699 in 2025. The growth is concentrated in a few fraud types: investment fraud, BEC and tech support scams together account for $13.8 billion in 2025, 66% of all reported losses, while phishing, the most reported crime, accounts for 1%.

Year Complaints Reported losses Loss per complaint 60+ complaints 60+ losses 60+ share of losses Crypto-related losses
2016 298,728 $1.5B $5,021 55,043 $339 million 22.6% $28.3 million
2017 301,580 $1.4B $4,642 49,523 $343 million 24.5% $58.4 million
2018 351,937 $2.7B $7,672 62,085 $649 million 24.0% $182 million
2019 467,361 $3.5B $7,489 68,013 $835 million 23.9% $159 million
2020 791,790 $4.2B $5,304 105,301 $966 million 23.0% $246 million
2021 847,376 $6.9B $8,143 92,371 $1.7 billion 24.4% $1.6 billion
2022 800,944 $10.3B $12,860 88,262 $3.1 billion 30.1% $2.5 billion
2023 880,418 $12.5B $14,198 101,068 $3.4 billion 27.4% $3.8 billion
2024 859,532 $16.6B $19,372 147,127 $4.9 billion 29.4% $9.3 billion
2025 1,008,597 $20.877B $20,699 201,266 $7.7 billion 37.1% $11.4 billion

Complaints and losses as published by IC3 (2016 to 2019 from the 2019 report’s five-year panel, 2020 and 2021 from the 2021 report, later years from each year’s own report). The 2016 report itself put 2016 losses at $1.33 billion; IC3’s later five-year panels show $1.5 billion. Crypto-related losses use the descriptor IC3 called Virtual Currency until 2021 and Cryptocurrency since; a descriptor can be added to any crime type. Age is optional on the complaint form, so 60+ figures cover only complaints that gave an age. 60+ losses for 2024 and 2025 are exact; the other age bands for those years were published rounded.

Crime types ranked: investment fraud, BEC and tech support scams take most of the money

InvestmentInvestment: $8.65 billion in 2025 from 72,984 complaints$8.65B25.7x since 2020BECBEC: $3.05 billion in 2025 from 24,768 complaints$3.05B1.6x since 2020Tech/customer supportTech/customer support: $2.13 billion in 2025 from 47,794 complaints$2.13B14.6x since 2020Personal data breachPersonal data breach: $1.31 billion in 2025 from 67,456 complaints$1.31B6.8x since 2020Confidence/romanceConfidence/romance: $929 million in 2025 from 23,159 complaints$929M1.5x since 2020Government impersonationGovernment impersonation: $798 million in 2025 from 32,424 complaints$798M7.3x since 2020OtherOther: $512 million in 2025 from 20,031 complaints$512MNon-payment/non-deliveryNon-payment/non-delivery: $503 million in 2025 from 56,478 complaints$503M1.9x since 2020Data breachData breach: $435 million in 2025 from 3,963 complaints$435M3.4x since 2020EmploymentEmployment: $363 million in 2025 from 24,688 complaints$363M5.8x since 2020Credit card/check fraudCredit card/check fraud: $283 million in 2025 from 18,774 complaints$283M2.2x since 2020Real estateReal estate: $275 million in 2025 from 12,368 complaints$275M1.3x since 2020PhishingPhishing: $216 million in 2025 from 191,561 complaints$216Mnew labelLottery/sweepstakes/inheritanceLottery/sweepstakes/inheritance: $194 million in 2025 from 5,623 complaints$194M3.2x since 2020Identity theftIdentity theft: $186 million in 2025 from 31,675 complaints$186M0.8x since 2020

Reported losses by IC3 crime type, 2025, top 15. Red bars are the scams that most often hit small businesses through their staff: business email compromise (BEC), tech support and government impersonation. Growth since 2020 is shown only where the category kept the same definition.

Investment fraud losses went from $336 million in 2020 to $8.65 billion in 2025, 26 times higher, and IC3 says cryptocurrency investment fraud alone was $7.228 billion of that. Tech support scams grew from $146 million to $2.13 billion (14.6x), and government impersonation from $110 million to $798 million (7.3x). BEC is the steadiest large category: $361 million in 2016, $1.87 billion in 2020 and $3.05 billion in 2025. Losses on complaints that mention cryptocurrency, in any crime type, reached $11.37 billion in 2025, 54% of all reported losses, compared with $28.3 million in 2016.

The most reported crime is not where the money is. Phishing and spoofing produced 191,561 complaints in 2025 but $216 million in losses. Comparing like with like (IC3 merged Spoofing into Phishing/Spoofing from the 2023 report and restated 2021 as 342,494), phishing complaints are down 44% from 2021. Our phishing statistics report sets that drop against other measures of phishing activity, which did not fall.

Fastest-growing losses, 2020 to 2025

Among the 17 categories whose definition did not change between the 2020 and 2025 reports, the five with the fastest loss growth were investment (25.7x), tech/customer support (14.6x), government impersonation (7.3x), personal data breach (6.8x), employment (5.8x). Two fell: identity theft (0.8x), overpayment (0.4x).

Crime type Complaints 2016 Complaints 2020 Complaints 2025 Losses 2016 Losses 2020 Losses 2025 Label changes in IC3 reports
Investment 2,197 8,788 72,984 $123M $336M $8.65B
BEC 12,005 19,369 24,768 $361M $1.87B $3.05B BEC/EAC to 2021; Business Email Compromise in 2024
Tech/customer support 10,850 15,421 47,794 $7.8M $146M $2.13B Tech Support until 2023, then Tech/Customer Support
Personal data breach 27,573 45,330 67,456 $59M $194M $1.31B
Confidence/romance 14,546 23,751 23,159 $220M $600M $929M Confidence Fraud/Romance until 2024
Government impersonation 12,344 12,827 32,424 $12M $110M $798M
Non-payment/non-delivery 81,029 108,869 56,478 $138M $265M $503M
Data breach 3,403 2,794 3,963 $96M $129M $435M Corporate Data Breach until 2021
Employment 17,387 16,879 24,688 $41M $62M $363M
Credit card/check fraud 15,895 17,614 18,774 $48M $130M $283M Credit Card Fraud until 2021
Real estate 12,574 13,638 12,368 $48M $213M $275M Real Estate/Rental until 2021
Phishing 19,465 241,342 191,561 $32M $54M $216M Phishing/Vishing/Smishing/Pharming to 2021; Phishing 2022; Phishing/Spoofing from 2023 (Spoofing merged in)
Identity theft 16,878 43,330 31,675 $59M $219M $186M
Extortion 17,146 76,741 89,129 $16M $71M $122M
Ransomware 2,673 2,474 3,611 $2.4M $29M $32M
Overpayment 25,716 10,988 2,194 $56M $51M $23M 419/Overpayment in 2016

Each year’s figure comes from that year’s own report (2016 to 2019 from the two-column crime type tables, 2020 to 2025 from the first column of each report’s three-year comparison). One complaint can carry more than one crime type, so columns do not add to the annual totals. IC3 also renamed or split categories: Harassment/Threats of Violence became Terrorism/Threats of Violence in 2021 and then Harassment/Stalking plus Threats of Violence in 2022, and No Lead Value, Misrepresentation and Civil Matter were dropped.

Internet crime by state, per resident

Raw counts mostly track population: California (116,414 complaints), Texas (97,912) and Florida (71,843) lead every year. Per 100,000 residents the ranking changes. The District of Columbia (449), Alaska (434) and Nevada (407) lead, against 268 for the 50 states and DC combined. For dollars per resident, DC ($140), California ($93) and Nevada ($92) lead, while Louisiana ($23) and Kentucky ($26) are lowest; the 50-state-plus-DC figure is $55.

Complaints per 100,000 residents, 2025

Alabama: 191 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsAL191Alaska: 434 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsAK434Arizona: 379 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsAZ379Arkansas: 198 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsAR198California: 296 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsCA296Colorado: 313 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsCO313Connecticut: 263 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsCT263Delaware: 291 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsDE291District of Columbia: 449 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsDC449Florida: 306 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsFL306Georgia: 229 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsGA229Hawaii: 232 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsHI232Idaho: 221 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsID221Illinois: 259 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsIL259Indiana: 298 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsIN298Iowa: 168 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsIA168Kansas: 266 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsKS266Kentucky: 204 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsKY204Louisiana: 187 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsLA187Maine: 204 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsME204Maryland: 310 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMD310Massachusetts: 321 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMA321Michigan: 219 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMI219Minnesota: 233 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMN233Mississippi: 172 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMS172Missouri: 225 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMO225Montana: 229 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsMT229Nebraska: 185 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNE185Nevada: 407 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNV407New Hampshire: 309 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNH309New Jersey: 216 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNJ216New Mexico: 268 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNM268New York: 226 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNY226North Carolina: 232 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsNC232North Dakota: 177 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsND177Ohio: 232 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsOH232Oklahoma: 290 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsOK290Oregon: 292 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsOR292Pennsylvania: 239 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsPA239Rhode Island: 242 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsRI242South Carolina: 264 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsSC264South Dakota: 269 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsSD269Tennessee: 222 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsTN222Texas: 309 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsTX309Utah: 280 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsUT280Vermont: 245 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsVT245Virginia: 285 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsVA285Washington: 320 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsWA320West Virginia: 238 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsWV238Wisconsin: 279 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsWI279Wyoming: 264 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsWY264Puerto Rico: 129 IC3 complaints per 100,000 residentsPR129lowest fifthhighest fifth

Reported losses per resident, 2025

Alabama: $32 reported losses per residentAL$32Alaska: $54 reported losses per residentAK$54Arizona: $83 reported losses per residentAZ$83Arkansas: $33 reported losses per residentAR$33California: $93 reported losses per residentCA$93Colorado: $59 reported losses per residentCO$59Connecticut: $60 reported losses per residentCT$60Delaware: $59 reported losses per residentDE$59District of Columbia: $140 reported losses per residentDC$140Florida: $68 reported losses per residentFL$68Georgia: $47 reported losses per residentGA$47Hawaii: $74 reported losses per residentHI$74Idaho: $44 reported losses per residentID$44Illinois: $42 reported losses per residentIL$42Indiana: $33 reported losses per residentIN$33Iowa: $29 reported losses per residentIA$29Kansas: $49 reported losses per residentKS$49Kentucky: $26 reported losses per residentKY$26Louisiana: $23 reported losses per residentLA$23Maine: $40 reported losses per residentME$40Maryland: $62 reported losses per residentMD$62Massachusetts: $57 reported losses per residentMA$57Michigan: $38 reported losses per residentMI$38Minnesota: $43 reported losses per residentMN$43Mississippi: $26 reported losses per residentMS$26Missouri: $37 reported losses per residentMO$37Montana: $46 reported losses per residentMT$46Nebraska: $36 reported losses per residentNE$36Nevada: $92 reported losses per residentNV$92New Hampshire: $42 reported losses per residentNH$42New Jersey: $69 reported losses per residentNJ$69New Mexico: $40 reported losses per residentNM$40New York: $61 reported losses per residentNY$61North Carolina: $39 reported losses per residentNC$39North Dakota: $47 reported losses per residentND$47Ohio: $35 reported losses per residentOH$35Oklahoma: $32 reported losses per residentOK$32Oregon: $45 reported losses per residentOR$45Pennsylvania: $41 reported losses per residentPA$41Rhode Island: $65 reported losses per residentRI$65South Carolina: $47 reported losses per residentSC$47South Dakota: $55 reported losses per residentSD$55Tennessee: $37 reported losses per residentTN$37Texas: $58 reported losses per residentTX$58Utah: $55 reported losses per residentUT$55Vermont: $41 reported losses per residentVT$41Virginia: $54 reported losses per residentVA$54Washington: $57 reported losses per residentWA$57West Virginia: $52 reported losses per residentWV$52Wisconsin: $33 reported losses per residentWI$33Wyoming: $44 reported losses per residentWY$44Puerto Rico: $14 reported losses per residentPR$14lowest fifthhighest fifth

Shading splits states into fifths. Our rates use Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates and match the per-100K tables IC3 printed for the first time in the 2025 report to within 0.05. Puerto Rico is included at the lower right.

IC3 does not publish per capita figures for earlier years, so we computed them. Complaints per 100,000 residents rose from 80 in 2016 to 268 in 2025 nationally, 3.3 times. South Dakota grew fastest (44 to 269, 6.2x), followed by Oklahoma (4.6x), Massachusetts (4.5x), Wisconsin (4.4x). Maryland, the 6th highest state for raw complaints in 2016, grew least (2.2x). One caution: IC3’s 2024 table listed 6,770 complaints for Alaska, more than double its 2023 and 2025 counts, so single-year per capita ranks for small states can swing on a few thousand filings.

Per capita rank State Complaints 2025 Raw rank Per 100K Losses 2025 Loss per resident Loss rank Per 100K, 2016 10-year change
1 District of Columbia 3,113 44 449 $97.4 million $140 1 137 3.3x
2 Alaska 3,202 43 434 $40.0 million $54 19 170 2.6x
3 Nevada 13,366 24 407 $302 million $92 3 129 3.1x
4 Arizona 28,868 7 379 $631 million $83 4 91 4.1x
5 Massachusetts 22,936 13 321 $411 million $57 15 72 4.5x
6 Washington 25,619 11 320 $458 million $57 16 94 3.4x
7 Colorado 18,847 18 313 $355 million $59 12 124 2.5x
8 Maryland 19,430 17 310 $390 million $62 9 139 2.2x
9 New Hampshire 4,374 38 309 $59.3 million $42 32 84 3.7x
10 Texas 97,912 2 309 $1.8 billion $58 14 77 4.0x
11 Florida 71,843 3 306 $1.6 billion $68 7 102 3.0x
12 Indiana 20,777 15 298 $233 million $33 43 70 4.2x
13 California 116,414 1 296 $3.7 billion $93 2 101 2.9x
14 Oregon 12,477 25 292 $193 million $45 27 97 3.0x
15 Delaware 3,089 45 291 $62.0 million $59 13 74 3.9x
16 Oklahoma 11,964 26 290 $132 million $32 47 63 4.6x
17 Virginia 25,314 12 285 $476 million $54 20 96 3.0x
18 Utah 9,903 28 280 $195 million $55 17 75 3.7x
19 Wisconsin 16,680 19 279 $194 million $33 45 63 4.4x
20 South Dakota 2,514 49 269 $51.5 million $55 18 44 6.2x
21 New Mexico 5,688 34 268 $85.6 million $40 35 81 3.3x
22 Kansas 7,927 32 266 $147 million $49 22 67 3.9x
23 South Carolina 14,699 21 264 $264 million $47 23 71 3.7x
24 Wyoming 1,552 51 264 $25.8 million $44 28 74 3.6x
25 Connecticut 9,714 29 263 $220 million $60 11 71 3.7x
26 Illinois 32,977 5 259 $535 million $42 31 72 3.6x
27 Vermont 1,580 50 245 $26.6 million $41 33 71 3.5x
28 Rhode Island 2,700 47 242 $72.0 million $65 8 63 3.9x
29 Pennsylvania 31,154 6 239 $538 million $41 34 65 3.7x
30 West Virginia 4,209 39 238 $92.6 million $52 21 63 3.8x
31 Minnesota 13,595 23 233 $249 million $43 30 61 3.8x
32 Hawaii 3,328 42 232 $106 million $74 5 74 3.1x
33 Ohio 27,626 8 232 $421 million $35 42 61 3.8x
34 North Carolina 25,940 9 232 $432 million $39 37 64 3.6x
35 Georgia 25,936 10 229 $535 million $47 25 65 3.5x
36 Montana 2,618 48 229 $53.2 million $46 26 71 3.2x
37 New York 45,255 4 226 $1.2 billion $61 10 84 2.7x
38 Missouri 14,087 22 225 $234 million $37 39 67 3.3x
39 Tennessee 16,261 20 222 $269 million $37 40 71 3.1x
40 Idaho 4,479 37 221 $88.7 million $44 29 67 3.3x
41 Michigan 22,191 14 219 $381 million $38 38 64 3.4x
42 New Jersey 20,648 16 216 $660 million $69 6 75 2.9x
43 Kentucky 9,414 30 204 $120 million $26 50 59 3.5x
44 Maine 2,888 46 204 $56.5 million $40 36 58 3.5x
45 Arkansas 6,161 33 198 $103 million $33 44 62 3.2x
46 Alabama 9,936 27 191 $167 million $32 46 77 2.5x
47 Louisiana 8,623 31 187 $105 million $23 51 64 2.9x
48 Nebraska 3,724 41 185 $71.8 million $36 41 54 3.4x
49 North Dakota 1,418 52 177 $37.9 million $47 24 46 3.8x
50 Mississippi 5,084 36 172 $77.4 million $26 49 49 3.5x
51 Iowa 5,436 35 168 $95.5 million $29 48 50 3.4x
52 Puerto Rico 4,108 40 129 $44.3 million $14 52 21 6.2x

State is where the complainant lives, as reported. IC3 counts only complaints that included a state, so the state tables add up to 91% of 2025 complaints. Territories other than Puerto Rico are left out because their per capita figures rest on very small counts. For FTC identity theft reports by state, see our identity theft statistics.

People over 60 now report more than a third of the losses

2016: 60+ losses $339 million of $1.5 billion total (22.6%)23%20162017: 60+ losses $343 million of $1.4 billion total (24.5%)24%20172018: 60+ losses $649 million of $2.7 billion total (24.0%)24%20182019: 60+ losses $835 million of $3.5 billion total (23.9%)24%20192020: 60+ losses $966 million of $4.2 billion total (23.0%)23%20202021: 60+ losses $1.7 billion of $6.9 billion total (24.4%)24%20212022: 60+ losses $3.1 billion of $10.3 billion total (30.1%)30%20222023: 60+ losses $3.4 billion of $12.5 billion total (27.4%)27%20232024: 60+ losses $4.9 billion of $16.6 billion total (29.4%)29%20242025: 60+ losses $7.7 billion of $20.9 billion total (37.1%)37%2025

Losses reported by complainants aged 60 and over as a share of all losses reported to IC3 that year.

From 2016 to 2021, the 60+ share of all reported losses held between 22.6% and 24.5%. It then climbed to 30% in 2022 and 37% in 2025, when 201,266 older complainants reported $7.748 billion. The average 60+ loss was $38,496 in 2025, against $6,167 in 2016. The largest 60+ categories in 2025: people 60+ reported $3.52 billion in investment fraud losses, $1.04 billion in tech support losses (49% of all tech support losses) and $4.35 billion in crypto-related losses. The FTC’s Consumer Sentinel shows the same age pattern in a different reporting system; our scam statistics break it down by contact and payment method.

Ransomware and critical infrastructure

IC3 logged 3,611 ransomware complaints in 2025, up from 3,156 in 2024 but below the 3,729 of 2021. Reported ransomware losses were $32.3 million, and the FBI notes that this figure normally leaves out lost business, time, wages, files, equipment and remediation costs. Complaints from organizations in the 16 critical infrastructure sectors rose faster: 649 in 2021, 870 in 2022, 1,193 in 2023, 1,403 in 2024 and 2,118 in 2025, a 51% rise in the last year. Healthcare and public health nearly doubled, from 238 to 460. IC3 also received more than 1,400 ransomware complaints from organizations outside those sectors, led by legal services (18%) and contracting services (17%). Leak-site data, which does not depend on victims filing, is in our ransomware statistics.

Critical infrastructure sector Ransomware 2024 Ransomware 2025
Healthcare and Public Health 238 460
Critical Manufacturing 258 355
Financial Services 190 258
Government Facilities 220 233
Information Technology 138 232
Commercial Facilities 111 164
Food and Agriculture 81 89
Transportation 57 80
Chemical 35 59
Energy 38 54
Communications 17 51
Defense Industrial Base 3 34
Water and Wastewater 11 25
Emergency Services 6 24
Year FFKC incidents Attempted theft Frozen Success Scope
2018 1,061 $257 million $193 million 75% BEC, domestic
2019 1,307 $384 million $305 million 79% BEC, domestic
2020 1,303 $463 million $380 million 82% BEC, domestic
2021 1,726 $443 million $328 million 74% BEC, domestic to domestic
2022 2,838 $591 million $433 million 73% BEC, domestic to domestic
2023 3,008 $758 million $538 million 71% all FFKC incidents
2024 3,020 $848 million $562 million 66% domestic and international (international added April 2024)
2025 3,900 $1.2 billion $679 million 58% domestic and international

Left: ransomware complaints by sector as charted in the 2024 and 2025 reports (sector names are printed only in the chart image; the counts were checked against the PDF text layer). 2021 to 2023 totals are from report text. Right: IC3 Recovery Asset Team (RAT) Financial Fraud Kill Chain results. Figures for 2018 to 2020 describe recoveries or freezes on BEC transfers to domestic accounts; IC3 added international transfers in April 2024, so the success rate is not a like-for-like series.

The Recovery Asset Team handled 3,900 incidents in 2025, almost four times the 1,061 of its first year, and froze $679 million. The success rate has slid each year since its 2020 peak of 82%. IC3 notes that kill chain requests, once mostly BEC, shifted in 2025 toward tech support and account takeover (ATO) cases, and that one ATO incident can involve 50 or more simultaneous ACH transfers to accounts at different banks.

What this means for MSPs

BEC and tech support scams are the two IC3 categories that land on small business clients through ordinary staff and ordinary tools. Their 2025 numbers:

Crime type Complaints 2025 Losses 2025 Loss per complaint
BEC 24,768 $3.05 billion $123,005
Tech/customer support 47,794 $2.13 billion $44,664
Government impersonation 32,424 $798 million $24,610
Investment 72,984 $8.65 billion $118,500
Ransomware 3,611 $32.3 million $8,950
BEC controls that address how the money actually moves.

  • Require a call-back to a known phone number (never one in the email) before any change to payee bank details, payroll direct deposit or vendor remittance, and a second approver for wires above a set amount.
  • Alert on new inbox forwarding rules, mailbox rules that hide or move messages, and sign-ins from new countries or hosting providers; these are the usual signs of a compromised mailbox used for BEC.
  • Move finance and executive accounts to phishing-resistant MFA, and enforce DMARC on client domains so exact spoofing of the client’s own domain fails.

Tech support and government impersonation controls.

  • Publish one help desk number and one rule to every client user: your MSP will never cold-call or pop up a phone number. People 60+ filed 45% of tech support complaints, so clients with older owners or bookkeepers need this repeated.
  • Block unapproved remote access tools on managed endpoints and alert when one is installed; scammers ask victims to install them.

Reporting.

  • If a client sends a fraudulent transfer, have them call their bank to request a recall first, then file at ic3.gov with the full transaction details, whatever the amount. That is what lets the IC3 Recovery Asset Team start a freeze, and in 2025 it froze $679 million of $1.16 billion attempted.
  • File ransomware incidents with IC3 as well. The FBI notes its ransomware loss figure is artificially low because in some cases entities report no loss amount at all.

Frequently asked questions

What is the IC3 report?

The IC3 report is the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s annual Internet Crime Report. The 2025 edition, released in April 2026, counts 1,008,597 complaints and $20.877 billion in reported losses. It covers only what victims chose to report to ic3.gov.

How much money was lost to internet crime in 2025?

Victims reported $20.877 billion in losses to the FBI’s IC3 in 2025, up 26% from $16.6 billion in 2024 and about 14 times the $1.5 billion reported for 2016. Investment fraud alone accounted for $8.65 billion.

Which state has the most internet crime?

By raw count, California, with 116,414 complaints in 2025. Per resident, the District of Columbia (449 complaints per 100,000), Alaska (434) and Nevada (407) rank highest. California ranks 13th per capita but 2nd for losses per resident ($93).

What is the most common internet crime reported to the FBI?

Phishing and spoofing, with 191,561 complaints in 2025, followed by extortion (89,129) and investment fraud (72,984). By losses the order changes: investment fraud ($8.65 billion), business email compromise ($3.05 billion) and tech support scams ($2.13 billion).

How much did people over 60 lose to internet crime in 2025?

Complainants aged 60 and over reported $7.748 billion in losses from 201,266 complaints, 37% of every dollar reported to IC3. In 2016 the share was 23%. People 60+ filed 45% of tech support scam complaints.

Can the FBI get my money back if I report to IC3?

Sometimes. In 2025 the IC3 Recovery Asset Team ran 3,900 Financial Fraud Kill Chain incidents covering $1.16 billion in attempted theft and froze $679 million, a 58% success rate, down from 82% in 2020. The FBI says to call your bank to request a recall and file at ic3.gov immediately.

Download the data. fbi-ic3-internet-crime-report-2016-2025.csv (CSV). Licensed under CC BY 4.0: free to reuse with attribution to The Uptime Report.

Methodology

Source. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) annual Internet Crime Reports for 2016 to 2025 and IC3 Elder Fraud Reports for 2020 to 2023, downloaded as PDF from ic3.gov in October 2026. Population: U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates, Vintage 2025 (for 2020 to 2025) and Vintage 2019 (for 2016 to 2019). Both are U.S. government works in the public domain.

What we did. We converted each PDF to text and parsed the tables with code: crime types by complaint count and loss, complaints and losses by state, and age groups. For 2016 to 2019 we read each report’s two-column crime type tables; for 2020 to 2025 we read the first column of each report’s three-year comparison. We then checked the parse: 2018 and 2019 values from the two-column tables match the 2020 report’s three-year table for every category except one IC3 merged; the 2016 to 2020 counts for the five largest categories match the five-year chart in the 2020 report; every state table has all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico; the 2025 state counts match the report’s top-10 chart; and our per-100K rates match IC3’s own 2025 per-100K tables. Sector names for the 2024 and 2025 critical infrastructure charts appear only in chart images, so we read them from a rendering of the page and confirmed the bar values against the PDF text layer.

Definitions. A complaint is a submission to ic3.gov; IC3 used the word “victims” until the 2022 report and “complaints” from 2023. Losses are as reported by complainants and adjusted by IC3. Loss per complaint divides losses by all complaints, including those that reported no loss. People 60+ means complainants who gave an age of 60 or over (“Over 60” in older reports).

Limitations. IC3 data reflect only what victims reported; most cybercrime is never filed. Crime types and descriptors are not exclusive, so crime type rows do not add to totals: in 2016 to 2022 the parsed crime type losses exceed the published annual totals, and in 2025 they sum to $20.3 billion against $20.877 billion. Annual loss totals before 2025 are published only rounded to $0.1 billion. IC3 restates some prior-year numbers in later reports, mainly after merging categories; we use each year’s first-published figure and note the restatements. Category names changed over the decade, as listed in the crime type table.

Not advice. This is an analysis of published FBI data, not legal or security advice for any organization.

Cite as:The Uptime Report. "FBI Internet Crime Report 2025 (IC3 Report): Losses Grew 14x in a Decade, and the Average Complaint Now Costs Four Times More." October 2026. https://theuptimereport.com/ic3-report-2025/

References

  1. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  2. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2024 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  3. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2023 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  4. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2022 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  5. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2021 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  6. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2020 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  7. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2019 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  8. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2018 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  9. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2017 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  10. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2016 Internet Crime Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  11. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2023 Elder Fraud Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  12. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2022 Elder Fraud Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  13. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2021 Elder Fraud Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  14. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2020 Elder Fraud Report (PDF). Accessed October 2026.
  15. U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Totals, Vintage 2025. Accessed October 2026.
  16. U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Totals, Vintage 2019. Accessed October 2026.

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