New York Scam Report: What's Targeting NY and How to Fight Back
New York residents filed 45,255 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $1.23 billion in losses — the 4th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting New York, and exactly where to report one.
Reviewed by the Cautellus team · Last updated July 2026
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report. These are reported figures — the FBI estimates most victims never file, so real losses run far higher.
How New York Compares
Nationally, Americans filed 1,008,597 complaints and reported $20.877 billion in losses in 2025 — up 26% from the year before, with an average loss of $20,699 per complaint.
New York ranks 4th in raw complaint volume and 4th in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 37th in complaints and 10th in losses per 100,000 residents. That per-capita rank is notably better than the raw totals suggest — New York's big numbers are mostly a function of its big population.
Scams Targeting New York Seniors
New York residents aged 60 and over filed 8,537 complaints and reported $408.7 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 33% of everything lost in the state. Nationally, the 60+ age group lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age bracket, led by investment fraud, tech-support scams, and romance scams.
If a parent or grandparent in New York gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in New York
8,088 New York complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $593.4 million in associated losses — about 48% of the state's reported total. Most of it is investment fraud: “pig butchering” schemes that start with a friendly message on social media, a dating app, or a wrong-number text, and end at a fake trading platform that won't let you withdraw. Crypto ATM payment demands — for “bail,” “back taxes,” or “securing your account” — are the other major pattern. No legitimate business or government agency takes payment through a crypto ATM.
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Scan Now — It's FreeScam Patterns Hitting New York
E-ZPass and congestion-toll confusion
Between E-ZPass, Tolls by Mail, and congestion pricing, New York drivers genuinely can't be sure what they owe — and smishers exploit that uncertainty relentlessly. Check balances only through the official Tolls by Mail or E-ZPass NY sites.
Apartment and rental scams
NYC's brutal rental market powers fake listings, fake brokers, and “send the deposit to hold it” fraud. Never pay before you've seen the unit and verified the broker's license.
Finance-sector BEC and investment fraud
New Yorkers lost $1.23 billion in 2025 — 4th nationally — with investment fraud and business email compromise leading. Crypto-linked complaints alone accounted for $593.4 million.
How to Report a Scam in New York
- 1If money moved, call your bank first. Ask for the fraud department and request a recall or reversal. Minutes matter more than anything else on this list.
- 2File with the FBI at ic3.gov. Fast reports give the FBI's Recovery Asset Team a chance to freeze wire transfers — and your complaint becomes part of the same dataset this page is built on.
- 3Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. FTC reports feed the Consumer Sentinel network used by law enforcement nationwide.
- 4File with the New York Attorney General's Office. State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in New York.
- 5Warn the next person. Share what happened on Cautellus so the phone number, website, or username gets flagged for everyone else who searches it.
FAQs
How much money did New York residents lose to scams in 2025?
New York residents reported $1.23 billion in losses across 45,255 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 4th-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Actual losses are higher, since most scams are never reported.
How do I report a scam in New York?
File with the FBI at ic3.gov (especially if you lost money — fast reporting helps the FBI's Recovery Asset Team attempt to freeze transfers), report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and file a complaint with the New York Attorney General's Office. If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older New York residents targeted more?
New York residents aged 60 and over filed 8,537 complaints and reported $408.7 million in losses in 2025 — about 33% of the state's reported losses. Nationally, people 60+ lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age group.
Other States in the Northeast
Before You Pay, Click, or Reply
Every scam pattern on this page shares one weakness: it falls apart under a second opinion. If a text, email, link, or phone number feels off, run it through the Cautellus scanner before you act — it checks against 10,000+ confirmed scam entities aggregated from Reddit, FBI IC3, FTC, and global phishing databases, refreshed every 6 hours.
Think you've received a scam?
Paste a suspicious message, email, or URL into our free AI scanner for instant analysis.
Scan Now — It's FreeSources: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report — state complaint, loss, per-capita, 60+, and cryptocurrency tables.