A sharp rise in digital crime has pushed global cybercrime losses to $20.9 billion in 2025, marking a 26% increase from 2024, according to the latest report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
The data highlights a worsening cyber threat landscape, with losses surging nearly 400% from $4.2 billion in 2020. Over the past 5 years, total losses have crossed $71.3 billion. The IC3, which serves as a central reporting hub, now receives nearly 3,000 complaints daily. “We now average almost 3,000 complaints per day,” Jose Perez said in the report.
In 2025, the FBI received over 1 million complaints. Victims aged 60 and above reported the highest losses, filing 201,000 complaints and accounting for nearly $7.75 billion, or about 37% of total losses.
Investment scams remained the biggest contributor, causing losses of $8.65 billion. Business email compromise ranked second with $3.05 billion, followed by tech support scams at $2.1 billion. Cryptocurrency was the main method used in investment and tech scams, while wire transfers dominated business email fraud.
Phishing was the most reported cybercrime, followed by extortion, investment scams, and personal data breaches. Losses from extortion reached $122.5 million, while ransomware accounted for $32.3 million. Authorities also recorded over 75,000 sextortion complaints, including more than 5,700 cases referred to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The top cyber threats included data breaches at 39%, ransomware at 36%, SIM swapping at 10%, malware at 9%, and botnets at 7%. Over 3,600 ransomware complaints were filed, with major variants including Akira, Qilin, INC, BianLian, and Play. All 16 critical infrastructure sectors reported ransomware attacks, with healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, government, and IT among the most affected.
The IC3 also received complaints from over 200 countries, contributing to nearly $1.6 billion in losses. While cybercrime continues to rise, authorities say efforts are ongoing to disrupt attackers. “It has never been more important to be diligent with your cybersecurity, social media footprint, and electronic interactions,” Perez added.
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