FBI: Crypto Scams Cost $21B, New Strike Force Targets Scam Hubs

0:00It's April 10th. This is Tampa Bay News today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. FBI just dropped their annual Internet Crime Report, and it's wild over 1 million complaints in 2025, jumping from 800. 59,000 the year before, with losses heading nearly $21 billion. Crypto scams led the pack, snagging more than $11 billion in reported cash. Crypto investment fraud topped the loss charts at $7.2 billion, starting with hooks on social media, texts, ads, or dating sites. That pull you into fake platforms. Victims see bogus profits, get pushed to pour in more, then hit walls of fees when cashing out. Xamers vanish, leaving folks broken, broken, emotionally. FBI's operation level up, stepped up big, warning over 8,000 targets since launch and saving more than $500 million. Last year alone, they flag nearly 4,000 victims, 78% clueless, preventing stuff like $400,000 loans, or selling houses for 500 grand.

1:06Meanwhile, a new strike force from the Justice Department, FBI, and Secret Service, is raiding scam hubs in Southeast Asia and yanking U.S. servers and accounts that fuel these ops aiming to shut them down for good.