Key Takeaways
- • The FBI reported crypto investment fraud as the largest source of losses in 2025, at $7.2 billion, according to the source article citing FBI data.
- • Many crypto investment scams begin with a wrong-number text; any reply, including a polite correction, signals a responsive target to the scammer.
- • The FBI contacted 3,780 victims in 2025 to warn them, and 78% did not realize they were being scammed.
- • Victims who have sent money should stop paying, avoid any tax or release fee, and report to ic3.gov.
- • Victims are frequently targeted again by fake lawyers, recovery firms, or law enforcement impersonators offering to recover funds for a fee, which the FBI says it never requests.
Summary
A consumer-finance guide from Money Crashers warns readers against replying to unsolicited wrong-number texts, noting that such messages are a common entry point for crypto investment scams. The article notes that even a courteous reply to say the number is incorrect confirms to a scammer that the recipient is active and engageable. The FBI and FTC describe a standard pattern: the sender apologizes, sustains the conversation until it becomes a friendship or romantic relationship, then mentions profitable crypto trading and offers to show the target how.
According to the article, the scam typically relies on a trading platform that displays quick gains and permits some early withdrawals, which lends it credibility. When the victim attempts to withdraw the full balance, the account is frozen and the platform demands "taxes" or fees to release funds. The article cites FBI figures showing crypto investment fraud produced $7.2 billion in reported losses in 2025, the largest category of losses the agency received that year. In outreach to 3,780 victims that year, the FBI found that 78% had not recognized they were being defrauded.
Recommended actions include forwarding unsolicited messages to 7726 (SPAM) so carriers can block similar traffic, then deleting them. Warning signs for those already engaged include requests to move the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram, unsolicited investment advice from people never met in person, and links to trading sites or apps. The article states that the length of the relationship is not a safeguard and that investments introduced by someone met online should be avoided. Victims who have paid should stop, refrain from paying any release fee, and file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) including all transaction details.
The article also warns of follow-on fraud: nearly all victims are reportedly approached later by fake lawyers, recovery services, or law enforcement officers offering to retrieve funds for a fee. The FBI does not request payment from victims, so any such recovery offer should be treated as a further scam.
According to the article, the scam typically relies on a trading platform that displays quick gains and permits some early withdrawals, which lends it credibility. When the victim attempts to withdraw the full balance, the account is frozen and the platform demands "taxes" or fees to release funds. The article cites FBI figures showing crypto investment fraud produced $7.2 billion in reported losses in 2025, the largest category of losses the agency received that year. In outreach to 3,780 victims that year, the FBI found that 78% had not recognized they were being defrauded.
Recommended actions include forwarding unsolicited messages to 7726 (SPAM) so carriers can block similar traffic, then deleting them. Warning signs for those already engaged include requests to move the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram, unsolicited investment advice from people never met in person, and links to trading sites or apps. The article states that the length of the relationship is not a safeguard and that investments introduced by someone met online should be avoided. Victims who have paid should stop, refrain from paying any release fee, and file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) including all transaction details.
The article also warns of follow-on fraud: nearly all victims are reportedly approached later by fake lawyers, recovery services, or law enforcement officers offering to retrieve funds for a fee. The FBI does not request payment from victims, so any such recovery offer should be treated as a further scam.
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