Fraud Losses by Payment Method
How reported fraud losses break down by payment method — bank transfer, cryptocurrency, gift card, and others — based on FTC and FBI IC3 data.
Last reviewed: 7 July 2026
Scammers direct victims to specific payment methods that are difficult to reverse or trace. Bank transfers and cryptocurrency dominate total reported losses because of the large sums involved, while gift cards remain common in lower-value impersonation schemes.
All figures below come from named official reports. Payment method data captures only reported cases; actual losses are higher.
Key figures
$736.9 million in reported losses
Credit cards and payment apps: most common scam payment method (FTC 2025)
Source: AARP, citing 2025 FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data (2025)
More than $4 billion
Bank transfer or cryptocurrency losses (FTC 2025)
Source: AARP, citing 2025 FTC Consumer Sentinel Network data (2025)
$11,366,669,732 across 181,565 complaints — a 22% increase in losses on 2024
Total cryptocurrency-related fraud losses (FBI IC3 2025)
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report (2025)
$62,604 per complaint, with 18,589 complainants losing more than $100,000
Average loss on complaints involving cryptocurrency (FBI IC3 2025)
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report (2025)
13,460 complaints and $389 million in losses — a 58% increase in losses on 2024
Cryptocurrency ATM and kiosk fraud (FBI IC3 2025)
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report (2025)
IC3 lists cryptocurrency first, ahead of wire transfer/ACH, debit and credit cards, peer-to-peer transfers, prepaid and gift cards, cheques, and cash
Top reported transaction types in cyber-enabled fraud (FBI IC3 2025)
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report (2025)
Bank transfers and cryptocurrency combined exceeded all other payment methods combined in 2024
Total losses paid by bank transfer or cryptocurrency vs all other methods (FTC)
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 (2024)
$1.42 billion in 2024
Reported losses paid by cryptocurrency (FTC)
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 (2024)
$9.3 billion across nearly 150,000 complaints in 2024 — a 66% increase on 2023
Total cryptocurrency-related fraud losses (FBI IC3)
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2024 Annual Report (2024)
$5,400 in the first half of 2024 — compared to $447 across all payment methods
Median individual loss when cryptocurrency was the payment method (FTC)
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 (2024)
Government impersonation, family impersonation, tech support, and business impersonation scams (2024)
Gift cards: top scam types where gift cards are most commonly requested
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 (2024)
Bank transfer or payment: $2 billion, followed by cryptocurrency at $1.4 billion
Top payment methods by aggregate reported loss (FTC, 2024)
Source: FTC Consumer Alert: Top scams of 2024 (2024)
Bank transfers and payments: $2.09 billion — the highest of any method, ahead of cryptocurrency at $1.42 billion
Highest aggregate-loss payment methods, exact figures (FTC 2024, via KPMG)
Source: KPMG Regulatory Insights: Fraud, Identity Theft, and Other Scams (2024 FTC Data Book Insights) (2024)
About $41 million in the first half of 2024, compared to about $21 million in all of 2023
Cryptocurrency losses tied to online job/task scams (FTC, H1 2024)
Source: FTC Data Spotlight: Paying to get paid — gamified job scams drive record losses (2024)
Key takeaways
- Bank transfers and cryptocurrency together accounted for more reported losses than all other payment methods combined in 2024 (FTC data).
- The FBI IC3 recorded $9.3 billion in cryptocurrency-related fraud losses in 2024, a 66% jump from 2023.
- Victims who paid scammers via cryptocurrency reported a median loss of $5,400 — more than ten times the median for all fraud reports.
- Gift cards are still heavily used in impersonation scams, particularly those targeting older adults.
Frequently asked questions
Why do scammers prefer cryptocurrency and bank transfers?
Both methods are difficult to reverse once a transfer is completed. Cryptocurrency transactions are pseudonymous and cross borders without traditional banking controls. Wire transfers, once settled, can rarely be recalled. This makes recovery of lost funds extremely difficult, which is exactly why scammers favour them.