FBI reports $21 billion cybercrime loss and offers five protection steps

Federal investigators disclosed that cyber-enabled crime claimed almost $21 billion from Americans in 2025, marking a 26% increase over the previous year, and investment fraud contributed the largest share at about $8.65 billion. The rise is attributed to scammers leveraging artificial-intelligence tools to craft convincing messages, voices and fake identities, erasing many traditional red flags. To counter the threat, specialists advise consumers to enable real-time alerts on all banking and credit-card accounts, adopt robust, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication, protect their mobile numbers from SIM-swap attacks, place freezes on credit reports with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and reinforce security on retirement and investment accounts. A complimentary replay of a recent “CyberGuy LIVE” session offers detailed instructions and a checklist for implementing these safeguards.