US cybercrime losses pass $20B for first time as AI boosts online fraud

Crims are taking advantage of AI to sharpen old scams. The FBI reported Monday that cybercrime losses hit a record $20.87 billion in 2025, with help from bots.

According to the annual Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) Internet Crime Report [PDF], the total number of cybercrime complaints submitted to the agency topped one million for the first time, increasing 17 percent compared to 2024. Last year also marked the first time total reported cybercrime losses surpassed $20 billion, the FBI noted in the introduction to the report. 

As for what's being complained about, phishing led the pack with 191,561 reports, followed by extortion and investment scams. As for where the big money went, investment scams led the pack with $8.6 billion in reported losses, followed by business email compromise (BEC) and tech support scams. 

All three of the top money makers fall under the FBI ...