Online Scams Are Changing Who Gets Targeted and How
FBI internet crime data shows online scams are not only growing more costly, but also reaching households across age groups through crypto, AI-related and other cyber-enabled fraud.
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Online scams increasingly affect households across age groups. Editorial illustration by TheDailyGlobe.
Key Facts
- The FBI released its 2025 Internet Crime Report in April 2026.
- The FBI said cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion.
- The FBI said cryptocurrency and AI-related complaints were among the costliest.
- WSJ reported the FBI report tracked AI-related scam complaints and losses.
- WSJ reported younger users are increasingly represented among internet crime victims.
Online scams are no longer something families can treat as a problem that mostly happens to someone else.
The FBI released its 2025 Internet Crime Report in April 2026 and said cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion. The agency said cryptocurrency and AI-related complaints were among the costliest categories.
For households, the useful point is not just that losses are large. It is that the target list is wider than many people assume. Teens, parents, retirees, small-business owners and people trying to protect older relatives can all be pulled into different kinds of online fraud.
Why the Target List Is Wider Now
Online fraud used to be discussed mostly as a warning for older adults. That is still an important concern, especially for families watching out for elderly relatives. But the latest reporting points to a broader picture.
The Wall Street Journal reported that younger users are increasingly represented among internet crime victims. That matters because younger people may be more comfortable online, but comfort is not the same as protection. A person can know how to use apps, payment platforms, messaging services and social media and still be vulnerable to pressure, impersonation or a convincing investment pitch.
That shift makes online fraud a household safety issue, not just a senior-safety issue. Different age groups may face different lures, but the same basic pattern often applies: trust is built quickly, urgency is introduced, and money or information is requested before the target has time to slow down.
Crypto and AI Add New Pressure
The FBI said cryptocurrency and AI-related complaints were among the costliest. Those categories matter because they can make fraud feel more modern, more confusing and harder for ordinary people to evaluate.
Cryptocurrency can be difficult for victims to understand and hard to recover once money is sent. AI can make old scams more convincing by helping scammers create more polished messages, fake images, voice imitations or other deceptive material.
The source material does not show that every online scam now uses AI. It also does not mean every cryptocurrency-related interaction is fraudulent. The careful takeaway is narrower: scammers are using newer tools and payment systems alongside older tactics, and that can make fraud harder to recognize in the moment.
Reported Losses Are Only Part of the Picture
The nearly $21 billion figure is serious, but it should be read as reported losses. It does not necessarily capture every dollar lost to online fraud.
Some victims may not file reports. Others may be embarrassed, unsure where to report, or unaware that what happened fits into a larger fraud category. Small-business owners may discover losses through compromised accounts, fake invoices or payment scams. Families may only realize what happened after money is gone.
That reporting gap is one reason internet crime can feel smaller than it is until it reaches someone close. A scam does not need to be technically complex to cause real damage. It only needs to reach the right person at the wrong moment.
What Families Can Watch For
The safest coverage of scams does not need to provide a playbook for criminals. The useful family lesson is simpler: watch for pressure.
Scams often push people to act quickly, keep the conversation secret, move money through unfamiliar channels, click a link, share a code or trust someone who cannot be verified through a known contact method. The format may change, but the pressure pattern is often familiar.
Families can treat online fraud the way they treat other shared risks: talk about it before something happens. A teenager should feel comfortable asking whether a message is suspicious. An older parent should know they can call a relative before sending money. A small-business owner should have a second check before paying a strange invoice.
What Remains Unclear
The available source material does not show how quickly law enforcement, platforms, banks or public education efforts can reduce online fraud losses. It also does not show how much AI-related scam activity will grow compared with older forms of impersonation and payment fraud.
Those unknowns matter because the scam landscape changes faster than many families can track. A warning that worked last year may not cover the way a fraud attempt appears today.
The careful takeaway is this: online scams are becoming a broader household risk, with reported losses reaching nearly $21 billion and newer tools such as AI and cryptocurrency adding more pressure. The best first defense is not panic. It is slowing down, verifying requests and treating online money pressure as something worth checking before anyone acts.
Reporting note: Reporting draws on FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center materials, cybersecurity reporting, technology reporting, and reviewed background context. This article was produced with AI-assisted research and reviewed by an editor before publication.
