People 60 and older reported $3.52 billion lost to investment fraud in 2025, nearly double 2024, including $2.76 billion to crypto investment schemes (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026).
The size of the problem
Investment fraud is the costliest crime against older Americans. People 60 and older filed 16,926 investment fraud complaints with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 and reported $3.52 billion in losses, nearly double the $1.83 billion reported in 2024 (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sees the same thing in its own data: investment scams produced far higher reported losses for older adults than any other fraud type in 2024, often after contact on social media (FTC, Protecting Older Consumers 2024-2025, December 1, 2025).
These scams target people with savings. A retiree with $500,000 in an IRA is a far better target than a worker with an empty checking account.
How an investment scam works, step by step
- Contact. A text that looks like a wrong number, a social media friend, a seminar, an ad, or a member of your church or club.
- Trust. Weeks of friendly messages, or a respected person in your group who is already "in."
- The offer. "I earn 2% a week on this platform." "It pays 10%, guaranteed, backed by real estate." "Gold is the only safe place for your IRA."
- Proof. A slick website or app showing your balance growing. The numbers are fake.
- More money. Small early withdrawals work, so you send more, sometimes from a home equity loan.
- The trap. When you try to take money out, you are told to pay "taxes" or "fees" first. Then the site disappears.
The main types to know
Crypto investment and relationship scams
The FBI says crypto investment scams are long-term schemes, mostly run by organized groups in Southeast Asia, that move victims to messaging apps, show fake profits, then charge taxes and fees when they try to withdraw (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026). People 60 and older reported 13,685 crypto investment fraud complaints and $2.76 billion in losses in 2025 (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) notes these are sometimes called romance scams or, more crudely, "pig butchering" (CFTC, Relationship Investment Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
Crypto ATM scams
A crypto automated teller machine (ATM) turns cash into cryptocurrency that is sent to a wallet the scammer controls. People 60 and older filed 6,188 crypto ATM complaints with $257.5 million in losses in 2025 (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026). The FTC found people 60 and older were more than three times as likely as younger adults to report a loss using a bitcoin ATM, and accounted for about 71% of the money lost this way in the first half of 2024 (FTC, Bitcoin ATMs: A payment portal for scammers, September 3, 2024). No real bank, agency or investment asks you to feed cash into one of these machines.
Promissory notes and "guaranteed" returns
A promissory note is a loan to a company in exchange for fixed payments. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says notes sold broadly to individual investors are often frauds, usually must be registered or exempt, and must be sold by a licensed person. It warns to be cautious of "risk free," "insured" or "guaranteed returns" (SEC, Promissory Notes, checked October 14, 2026).
Ponzi schemes and affinity fraud
A Ponzi scheme pays earlier investors with new investors' money. SEC red flags include high returns with little risk, overly consistent returns, unregistered investments, unlicensed sellers, and trouble getting paid (SEC, Ponzi Scheme, checked October 14, 2026). Many spread through religious, ethnic, military or retiree groups, where people vouch for each other (SEC, Investment Scams Targeting Groups, checked October 14, 2026).
Gold and precious metals IRA pressure sales
Owning gold is legal, and some people hold a little. The problem is the pitch. The CFTC warns that when money moves from a 401(k) or IRA to a self-directed IRA, there are fewer safeguards against dealers who charge excessive fees and overinflate coin prices (CFTC, How Gold or Silver IRA Scams Rob Your Retirement, checked October 14, 2026). The IRS treats most collectibles bought inside a retirement account as a distribution, so a "rare coin" pitch for an IRA deserves extra questions (IRS, Investments in collectibles, checked October 14, 2026). The FBI also tracked about 725 gold courier complaints with $311.8 million in losses across all ages in 2025, where victims hand gold to a courier to "protect" it (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026).
How to check before you invest
- Look up the seller on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck site and on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) site at adviserinfo.sec.gov. No record is a serious warning.
- Call your state securities regulator, found through the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) at nasaa.org, and ask whether the investment and seller are registered.
- Compare the promised rate with Treasury bonds and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured certificates of deposit (CDs), as the SEC suggests. A much higher rate means much higher risk, not a gift.
- Read the SEC's free guides at Investor.gov, including its alert on self-directed IRAs, which warns of fraud, high fees and volatile performance (SEC, NASAA and FINRA, Self-Directed IRAs and the Risk of Fraud, February 7, 2023).
- Never invest with someone you have only met online, and never pay a fee to withdraw your own money.
- Sleep on it and show the paperwork to someone with no stake in the sale, such as a fee-only fiduciary or a tax professional.
If you already invested, and who to report to
- Stop sending money, including any "tax" or "release fee."
- Call your bank or brokerage using the number on your statement and ask it to stop or recall transfers.
- Report to the FBI at ic3.gov with wallet addresses, transaction IDs and screenshots.
- Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to your state securities regulator.
- For a brokerage account, call the FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors at 844-574-3577.
- Ignore anyone who offers to recover your crypto for a fee. People 60 and older reported $540.5 million lost in recovery scams in 2025, which the FBI notes may include the earlier loss (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026).
Legal products sold too hard, such as some annuities, are a different issue from fraud; see annuity sales red flags. For the full list of scams aimed at retirees, see our retirement scams guide.
A plain example with numbers
Real losses reported to the FBI by people 60 and older in 2025. Categories overlap, so they do not add up.
| Category (age 60 and older, 2025) | Complaints | Losses | Average per complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment fraud (all kinds) | 16,926 | $3,519,296,354 | about $207,900 |
| Crypto investment fraud | 13,685 | $2,763,921,910 | about $202,000 |
| Recovery scams | 2,529 | $540,505,980 | about $213,700 |
| Crypto ATM and kiosk use | 6,188 | $257,466,130 | about $41,600 |
Source: (FBI IC3, 2025 IC3 Annual Report, April 2026). Average = losses divided by complaints, for example $3,519,296,354 / 16,926 = about $207,900. People 60 and older filed 46% of all crypto ATM complaints (6,188 of 13,460) but reported 66% of the losses ($257.5 million of $389 million).
| Hypothetical: $200,000 into a "guaranteed 10%" note | Amount |
|---|---|
| Promised interest per year (10% x $200,000) | $20,000 |
| Interest actually paid before collapse (2 years) | $40,000 |
| Principal lost when the scheme collapses | -$200,000 |
| Net loss ($40,000 - $200,000) | -$160,000 |
In this hypothetical, the two years of steady payments were the bait. They were paid from other investors' money.
Red flags
- The return is described as guaranteed, risk free or insured, and it is far above CD or Treasury rates.
- Returns are steady every month no matter what markets do.
- Someone you met online, and never in person, offers to teach you to invest in crypto.
- You are told to deposit cash into a crypto ATM or buy crypto to send to a wallet.
- The seller has no record on FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC's adviser search.
- You must pay taxes or fees before you can withdraw your own money.
- You are told to move your IRA or 401(k) into gold or rare coins because the market is about to crash.
- The deal is spreading through your church, club or community and no one can explain how it makes money.
- You are told to keep the opportunity quiet or to act before a deadline.
- Payments arrive late or you are offered a higher rate to stay in.
- A firm offers to recover lost crypto for an upfront fee.
Questions to ask before you pay or share anything
- Is this investment registered with the SEC or my state, and can I see the filing?
- Is the seller licensed, and what does BrokerCheck or the SEC adviser search show?
- How exactly does this make money, and who pays me if it fails?
- Why is this rate so much higher than Treasury bonds or bank CDs?
- Can I withdraw my money at any time, and what does it cost?
- What is the dealer's markup over the metal value, in dollars, before I buy any coins?
- Can these coins legally be held in an IRA?
- How is the seller paid, and by whom?
- Can I take the paperwork home and show it to someone with no stake in the sale?
- Why would anyone ask me to pay a fee or tax before I can withdraw?
Read This Before You Sign
A one-page checklist: the red flags in annuity and indexed universal life (IUL) sales, and the questions to ask before you sign anything. Spot the signs of an investment scam and check any seller and offer before you move retirement money. We’ll email it to you.
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Sources
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: 2025 IC3 Annual Report (published April 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission: Bitcoin ATMs: A payment portal for scammers (September 3, 2024)
- Federal Trade Commission: Protecting Older Consumers 2024-2025 (December 1, 2025)
- SEC Investor.gov: Promissory Notes (checked October 14, 2026)
- SEC Investor.gov: Ponzi Scheme (checked October 14, 2026)
- SEC Investor.gov: Investment Scams Targeting Groups (checked October 14, 2026)
- SEC, NASAA and FINRA: Investor Alert, Self-Directed IRAs and the Risk of Fraud (February 7, 2023)
- CFTC: How Gold or Silver IRA Scams Rob Your Retirement (checked October 14, 2026)
- CFTC: Investor Alert, Relationship Investment Scams (checked October 14, 2026)
- IRS: Investments in collectibles in individually directed qualified plan accounts (checked October 14, 2026)
- NASAA: Contact your regulator (checked October 14, 2026)
The Retirement Literacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. This page is general education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Nothing is sold here, no product is recommended, and RLF accepts no funding from financial companies. Rules and figures change; each one above shows its source and date. Check anything you plan to act on with your state insurance department or a qualified professional who is not paid on the product.