TL;DR: Cryptocurrency and bank transfers dominate scam losses. Scamwatch recorded A$121.3 million (36.2% of its A$334.8 million) paid in cryptocurrency and A$118.1 million by bank transfer in 2025. The FBI’s IC3 counted $11,366,669,732 in cryptocurrency-nexus losses, about 54% of its $20.877 billion total, and 13,460 crypto kiosk complaints with $388,981,267 in losses, up 23% and 58% on 2024.
Payment method is the clearest sign of how hard money is to recover: cash and crypto are hard to claw back, bank transfers sometimes can be. This page gathers the payment-method figures that agencies publish for 2025 and flags where they do not.
Australia: Scamwatch payment methods, 2025
| Payment method | Losses | Reports or transactions | Share of Scamwatch losses* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency / digital currency exchange | A$121.3m | 3,993 transactions | 36.2% |
| Bank transfer | A$118.1m | 8,858 reports | 35.3% |
| Cash | A$10.0m | not stated | 3.0% |
| Credit card | A$9.1m | not stated | 2.7% |
| Gift card (other) | A$5.8m | not stated | 1.7% |
* Computed by us by dividing each loss by Scamwatch’s published A$334.8 million total for 2025 (the crypto share of 36.2% is as published). The five methods listed do not add up to the total; other methods exist. PayID is not covered in the extract we reviewed.
United States: cryptocurrency and kiosks
| Measure | Figure | Source page |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency-nexus losses | $11,366,669,732 | IC3 report p. 8 |
| As a share of all IC3 losses ($20.877 billion)* | 54.4% | computed |
| Cryptocurrency complaints | 181,565 | p. 53 |
| Cryptocurrency investment fraud | $7.228 billion from 61,559 complaints | p. 53 |
* Computed by us. IC3 notes its counts and losses are point-in-time and may change.
| State | Complaints | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1,213 | $32,765,444 |
| Texas | 1,179 | $56,802,197 |
| California | 978 | $24,017,535 |
| Pennsylvania | 518 | $14,485,236 |
| Illinois | 510 | $20,077,277 |
| All states (table total) | 13,460 | $388,981,267 |
Kiosk complaint counts include complaints in which a kiosk was used and may include other transaction types; losses are not solely attributable to kiosks. By adjusted losses the top five were Texas, Florida, California, Illinois and New Jersey ($17,873,478). Kiosk complaints rose 23% and losses 58% from 2024. More than half of complaints involved people over 50, with losses over $302 million.
What other agencies say
The FTC’s 2025 testimony says bank payments produced the highest aggregate losses, followed by cryptocurrency, while credit card was the most frequently identified payment method in reports; it gives no dollar figures for individual methods. Its 2024 report on older adults says bank transfers and cryptocurrency had the highest aggregate losses, while credit cards and gift cards were most frequent by count. UK Finance, in its 2026 fraud report press release, does not break fraud down by payment type, and the CAFC top-10 page for Canada gives none.
For the stories behind the numbers, see the FBI’s crypto kiosk supplement, a Canadian bail scam that ended at a crypto machine, couriers collecting cash in crypto investment scams and fake crypto platforms in stock-tip groups. Our guides on realistic expectations for crypto scam recovery and gift card scam recovery explain what can be done after paying by each route, and the free digital footprint check shows what of your data is exposed.
How we compiled this data
Australian figures are from the National Anti-Scam Centre Targeting Scams Report 2025, Scamwatch tables (page 37). US figures are from the FBI IC3 Internet Crime Report 2025 (pages 8 and 53) and the IC3 kiosk supplement published May 15, 2026. FTC statements are from its 2026 testimony and its December 2025 older adults report.
The Scamwatch payment table covers Scamwatch reports only. We did not combine sources or convert currencies. The IC3 report also shows percentage mixes of transaction types by crime type, but the text we reviewed did not map percentages to labels reliably, so we do not report them.
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 payment method accounts for the most scam losses in Australia?
Cryptocurrency. Scamwatch recorded A$121.3 million in crypto and digital currency exchange payments in 2025, 36.2% of its losses, just ahead of bank transfers at A$118.1 million.
How much did the FBI say was lost to cryptocurrency scams in 2025?
$11,366,669,732 in cryptocurrency-nexus losses, with $7.228 billion from 61,559 cryptocurrency investment fraud complaints.
How many crypto kiosk complaints were there?
13,460 complaints and $388,981,267 in losses in 2025, up 23% and 58% on 2024, according to the IC3 supplement.
Are credit cards or bank transfers the biggest scam payment route?
The FTC says bank payments produced the highest aggregate losses, followed by cryptocurrency, while credit card was the most frequently identified method by number of reports.
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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
- National Anti-Scam Centre: Targeting Scams Report 2025
- FBI IC3: Internet Crime Report 2025
- FBI IC3: Cryptocurrency Kiosk Complaint Data by State (May 15, 2026)
- FTC: Statement before the Joint Economic Committee on the rising scam economy (2026)
- FTC: Protecting Older Consumers report (Dec 2025)
- UK Finance: Annual Fraud Report 2026, press release