Rapid Growth of Crypto in Investment and Romance Schemes
A negative name for a particular type of scam has leaped from the barnyard to law enforcement, and it is now used to describe a common cryptocurrency scam. We believe this term is offensive and wish law enforcement and government agencies would stop using it. By way of explanation, in many 
new schemes involving crypto, scammers trick their victims into believing they can make handsome profits by investing in the shadowy world of cryptocurrency.
The bad actors often “target victims online and develop a friendship or relationship before introducing a fraudulent investment opportunity in cryptocurrency,” explains the FBI. “Victims are coached to invest more and more money into what appears to be an extremely profitable platform, only to be unable to withdraw their funds.”
In one case, Justice Department officials seized bitcoin cryptocurrency worth valued at about $15 billion from a ring based in Cambodia. In another, the Justice Department is seeking $200,000 from a scammer who met his Massachusetts victim through the Tinder dating app. “This is one of several civil forfeiture actions the US Attorney’s Office has filed seeking to forfeit cryptocurrency traced to fraud schemes targeting Massachusetts victims,” federal prosecutors said in a press release.
Unlike the US dollar, cryptocurrency is a type of digital money that is not regulated by a central authority. Cryptocurrency is popular with criminals for a variety of reasons, including their ability to use it for large transactions that cannot be traced, a paucity of consistent rules, and the fact that it is based online, rather than tied to a sole governmental jurisdiction. While some cryptocurrency investments have proven profitable, others have lost many millions of dollars in the highly volatile marketplace.
According to AARP, older adults are often the targets of crypto scams. “Cryptocurrency-related fraud is surging in the United States, with losses reaching an estimated $9.3 billion in 2024 – a 66% increase over the previous year,” AARP reported. “Older adults are especially vulnerable, with those 60 or older losing $2.8 billion to cryptocurrency scams.”
According to the FBI, almost eight in 10 victims – 77 percent – did not know they were being scammed. As of late 2025, the FBI had informed 8,103 victims of cryptocurrency scams. It is perhaps not a surprise that some of those notified were devastated by the information, with the FBI referring 80 victims for suicide intervention.
Officials at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an independent government agency, advise victims of crypto fraud to notify their bank and contact their local police. In addition, victims are urged to file complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://ic3.gov and the US Secret Service, which can be reached by email at cryptofraud@usss.dhs.gov.
Data Breaches Skyrocket, but Companies Mum with Details
Data breaches are at all-time highs, with US companies reporting more than 3,320 incidents in 2025, according to the Identify Theft Resource Center 2025 Annual Data Breach report. That’s a 79 percent increase in the past five years.
At the same time, transparency over how these cyber attacks happened – critical information that can prevent future ones – has plunged. The report found just 30 percent of the organizations at the center of data breaches “provided clear details” on what went wrong. In 2020, by comparison, nearly every company was more forthcoming.
“When organizations withhold the root cause of an attack to mitigate their own legal or reputational risk, they leave the American consumer and other businesses in the dark,” the report noted. “People and institutions are unable to judge their own level of danger or take the necessary steps to protect themselves.” The non-profit group has issued annual reports on cybercrime for 20 years.
Consumers pay a price for data breaches that may not always be obvious. Nearly 40 percent of small businesses reported that they raised prices to cover remediation and recovery costs after data breaches, passing the costs onto consumers.
While financial services were still the top target of cyber attacks, professional services, including attorneys, accountants, and consultants, saw the highest growth in new scams.
The group also found that 80 percent of survey respondents had been notified that they were victims of data breaches over the last year, with nearly 40 percent getting between three and five separate notices. Overall, there were 278.8 million victims of cyber attacks, according to the report.
Those who received data breach notices reported a subsequent increase in scam attempts, whether it was through more spam emails, robocalls, or attempts to take over their accounts. About 60 percent changed their passwords as a result, but 46 percent of people did nothing.
Breach in Social Security May Affect Millions of Americans
A government whistleblower has warned that personal data of every American with a Social Security number has been put at risk due to the mishandling of such information by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
DOGE was the advisory body led by Elon Musk with a mission to cut federal jobs and costs. It was phased out last year following widespread criticism of its strategy and effectiveness.
In a recent interview with MarketWatch, Chuck Borges, former Chief Data Officer of the Social Security Administration (SSA), said that DOGE moved massive amounts of personal data into a cloud environment that lacked sufficient safeguards to protect it from cyber criminals. People’s Social Security numbers, names, birth dates, phone numbers, and addresses are among the personal items that may fall into the wrong hands, he said.
It is not certain that such data will ever be safe again. “This is not just another data breach,” Borges told MarketWatch.
“This is a huge counterintelligence and intelligence-gathering opportunity. And it’s a generational problem because the data Social Security keeps can’t be changed – the place of your birth, your mother’s maiden name. This is immutable personal information that will be compromised for children for the rest of their lives,” Borges said.
In September, SSA officials said the agency had found no evidence of hacking, and that the data remained secure. But others maintain that the breach has put such data in permanent jeopardy, and that it has left Americans of all ages vulnerable to identity theft and other crimes.
“The possibilities are only bounded by imagination,” said Borges, who resigned from the SSA in August and is now running for a state Senate seat in Maryland. If you need more information on how to monitor your Social Security data, contact EverSafe.
