TL;DR: In 2025, people aged 60 and over filed 201,266 complaints with the FBI’s IC3 and reported about $7.7 billion in losses, around 37.1% of the $20.877 billion headline total. In Australia, people aged 65 and over make up about 17.1% of the population but accounted for 26.5% of losses reported to Scamwatch. Official UK and Canadian age breakdowns were not available in the sources we reviewed.
Age-group figures are rarely published alongside the headline scam totals, so they are easy to quote wrongly. This page gathers the figures that the US and Australian agencies do publish, with the computed shares marked.
| Age group | Complaints | Reported losses | Share of all IC3 losses* | Approx. loss per complaint* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | 31,254 | $67,100,000 | 0.3% | $2,100 |
| 20-29 | 112,069 | $563,100,000 | 2.7% | $5,000 |
| 30-39 | 153,293 | $1.7 billion | 8.1% | $11,100 |
| 40-49 | 167,066 | $2.957 billion | 14.2% | $17,700 |
| 50-59 | 124,820 | $3.7 billion | 17.7% | $29,600 |
| 60+ | 201,266 | $7.748 billion | 37.1% | $38,500 |
| All complaints (headline) | 1,008,597 | $20.877 billion | 100% | $20,700 |
* Computed by us from the published figures. The age-group rows are shown as the report gives them (several are rounded to $0.1 or $1 billion), so shares and per-complaint averages are approximate. The age-group rows do not add up to the headline total, and we do not infer why. The report gives the 60+ loss as $7.7 billion on one page and $7.748 billion on another; we use $7.748 billion.
Cryptocurrency losses by age group
IC3’s cryptocurrency section breaks losses down by age too. In every age group over 29, roughly half or more of reported losses involved cryptocurrency.
| Age group | Crypto losses | As a share of the age group’s losses* |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | $26,955,462 | 40% |
| 20-29 | $288,875,060 | 51% |
| 30-39 | $861,551,625 | 51% |
| 40-49 | $1,552,700,119 | 53% |
| 50-59 | $2,139,033,232 | 58% |
| 60+ | $4,432,224,488 | 57% |
* Computed by us by dividing the report’s crypto losses by the same age group’s total losses, using the rounded totals above. Treat as approximate.
Older adults in the FTC, Australian and kiosk data
| Source | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| FTC Consumer Sentinel, ages 60+ | Nearly $2.4 billion in reported losses (about $1.9 billion in 2023; about $600 million in 2020) | 2024 |
| FTC Consumer Sentinel, ages 60+ | Median individual loss $900 (up from $650 in 2023); ages 80+ $1,650 | 2024 |
| FTC Consumer Sentinel, ages 60+ | 421,031 reports with age data, of which 109,580 indicated a monetary loss | 2024 |
| FTC Consumer Sentinel, ages 60+ | 5,125 reports of losses over $100,000 (1,136 in 2020) | 2024 |
| National Anti-Scam Centre, Scamwatch | Ages 65+ are about 17.1% of the population and 26.5% of losses reported to Scamwatch | 2025 |
| National Anti-Scam Centre, Scamwatch (our calculation) | 26.5% of A$334.8 million is about A$88.7 million* | 2025 |
| FBI IC3 crypto kiosk supplement | More than half of 13,460 kiosk complaints involved people over 50, with losses over $302 million of $388,981,267* | 2025 |
* Computed by us. The Australian figure applies the published 26.5% share to Scamwatch’s published A$334.8 million total; the National Anti-Scam Centre page gives no dollar figure for this group. The kiosk supplement gives “more than half” of complaints and “over $302 million” in losses for people over 50 (about 78% of kiosk losses when divided by the table total).
What the data does not show
The sources we reviewed give no age breakdown for UK Finance’s 2025 fraud figures or for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s 2025 top-10 table, so Canada and the UK are not included here. Each agency measures differently: IC3 counts complaints, the FTC counts reports in its Sentinel database, and Scamwatch counts reports to one of several Australian sources. The numbers are not directly comparable across countries.
For the stories behind the numbers, see how crypto scammers send couriers to collect cash from older victims, the FBI’s hospice and Medicare fraud warning and ASIC’s review of super funds’ scam warnings. Families can start with our guide on how to protect elderly parents from phone scams, and anyone worried about their own exposure can run the free digital footprint check.
How we compiled this data
Age-group complaint counts and losses are the FBI IC3 Internet Crime Report 2025 figures (age table, page 6; crypto losses by age, page 52). The FTC figures are from its Protecting Older Consumers report (calendar 2024, the latest in the sources we reviewed). The Australian figures are from the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Targeting Scams reporting for 2025.
Computed values are labelled with an asterisk and rounded. We did not adjust for different age bands (IC3 uses 60+, Australia 65+, the FTC 60+). We did not estimate unreported losses.
Want to know what is exposed about you personally? Run our free digital footprint checker or read the what to do after a scam guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which age group loses the most money to scams in the United States?
People aged 60 and over. They filed 201,266 complaints with the FBI’s IC3 in 2025 and reported about $7.7 billion in losses, around 37.1% of the $20.877 billion total.
Do older Australians lose a disproportionate amount?
Yes. People aged 65 and over are about 17.1% of the population but accounted for 26.5% of losses reported to Scamwatch in 2025.
How much of older Americans’ losses involve cryptocurrency?
IC3 reports $4,432,224,488 in cryptocurrency-nexus losses for the 60+ group in 2025, roughly 57% of that group’s reported losses by our calculation.
Why are the UK and Canada missing?
The official sources we reviewed for 2025, UK Finance and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre top-10 page, do not give an age breakdown.
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The chart and compilation are ours; the underlying figures belong to the agencies listed under Sources, so check their terms before reusing the raw data.
Sources
- FBI IC3: Internet Crime Report 2025 (age table, crypto by age)
- FTC: Protecting Older Consumers, 2024–2025 report (Dec 2025)
- National Anti-Scam Centre: Continued action critical to combat fraud as annual scam losses exceed $2 billion (Mar 30, 2026)
- National Anti-Scam Centre: Targeting Scams Report 2025
- FBI IC3: Cryptocurrency Kiosk Complaint Data by State (May 15, 2026)