Opinion

Americans lost over $20 billion to one type of crime. Here’s how we can fight it

Seniors over 60 accounted for $7.7 billion of losses, averaging $38,500 each, as social media scams surge

By E.J. Antoni Fox News

Published September 24, 2026 9:00am EDT

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Almost all kinds of crime, from homicide to car theft, are down, according to the latest FBI data. That’s great news, but one type of less-reported crime is up — way up.

Americans reported losing $20.9 billion to internet-enabled crime in 2025, 26% higher than the year before and the highest figure ever recorded by the FBI. Folks over 60 reported $7.7 billion of it, averaging $38,500 apiece. The real toll is even higher, since the Federal Trade Commission notes that most victims never make a report. It’s clear more needs to be done to protect Americans from these crimes.

But many of the losses aren’t hacks where a firewall was breached or a password stolen. They’re scams where victims are persuaded to voluntarily send money to overseas bad actors. That’s an important distinction because a transfer that the customer has been convinced to make looks to every automated system in the chain like a legitimate one.

CYBERCRIME LOSSES NEAR $21B: 5 WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR MONEY

The fact that the money leaves the country should also inform government’s response. Treasury estimates Americans lost at least $10 billion in 2024 to scam operations in Southeast Asia, a 66% increase. These are sophisticated operations in Burma, Cambodia and Laos, many staffed by trafficked workers held in........

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