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FBI says crypto scams were the leading way Michiganders lost cash in 2025, with $3.5 billion in imposter losses and $7.9 billion in investment fraud losses
The FTC recorded $3.5 billion in imposter‑scam losses in 2025, a 20% jump from the prior year, while the FBI identified cryptocurrency fraud as the top loss channel for Michigan residents last year【1】.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Imposter‑scam losses (2025) | $3.5 billion |
| Investment‑scam losses (2025) | $7.9 billion |
| Crypto‑related loss share (Michigan) | Top loss channel, per FBI |
| Primary payment method for big losses | Bank transfers & crypto |
Imposter scams—where fraudsters pose as the IRS, toll agencies or loved ones—ranked #1 for nine consecutive years, and in 2025 the FTC logged more than one million reports, with total losses rising nearly 20% to $3.5 billion【1】. Government‑impersonation reports alone were up 40%, fueled by fake toll‑payment texts that mimic EZ‑Pass or SunPass alerts. The FTC stresses that the urgency tactics—pressuring victims to pay via gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency—are designed to bypass verification steps.
A June 2026 FBI briefing highlighted that cryptocurrency fraud was the leading way Michiganders lost cash, eclipsing other scams in both frequency and dollar amount【2】. While the FTC’s national figures show crypto payments behind bank transfers in loss size, the Michigan data underscores a regional spike in crypto‑related fraud, reflecting the appeal of fast, irreversible transfers for scammers. Investment scams—many of which promise guaranteed crypto returns—accounted for $7.9 billion in losses nationwide, representing roughly half of all reported fraud losses in 2025【1】. The average individual loss in these schemes exceeded $10,000, and the highest losses clustered among victims reporting $100,000 or more.
Credit‑card transactions remain the most common fraud vector, but bank transfers and cryptocurrency moves generate the largest single losses because they are swift and hard to reverse【1】. The FTC notes that social‑media platforms now produce the biggest monetary impact, with over $2 billion in losses reported in 2025, as scammers shift conversations from public posts to private messaging apps before steering victims toward crypto wallets or wire transfers【1】.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Most costly payment method | Bank transfers & crypto |
| Platform with highest loss amount | Social media ($2 billion) |
| Average loss in investment scams | > $10,000 |
The surge in imposter and crypto‑investment scams shows that fraudsters are adapting fast, exploiting the speed and anonymity of digital assets. Whether the trend reflects broader adoption of crypto or simply its attractiveness to scammers remains an open question for regulators and consumers alike.
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AI-assisted synthesis by the TrendWatcher Editorial Desk · sourced from 2 outlets · Jun 27, 2026 · How we report
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Minnesota is banning publicly accessible cryptocurrency ATMs, requiring operators to remove them by the end of the year, after reporting nearly $1 million in losses from such scams.
Recovery is difficult; fake ticket purchases often result in refunds only for the ticket cost, and crypto ATM scams involve cash transactions that are hard to reverse.
Signs include pressure to act quickly, requests to use non‑protected payment methods (e.g., Zelle, gift cards, crypto), and URLs that differ from official domains or contain misspellings.