The FBI says it stopped more than half a billion dollars from reaching fraudsters last year by acting swiftly on reports from scam victims.

The agency says victims reported roughly $1.2 billion in qualifying cases last year, and agents froze $679 million of it for a 58% success rate.

The bureau’s recovery team collaborates with banks to block funds in fraudulent wire transfers before scammers access them.

Recovery works best when victims notify their bank immediately and file a complaint at IC3.gov within 48 hours.

Overall cybercrime complaints exceeded 1 million last year with total losses nearing $21 billion, according to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report.

Cryptocurrency schemes drove the highest individual losses at over $11 billion, while investment fraud accounted for nearly half of all scam-related damages.

The agency says victims should contact their bank first, then local FBI offices and avoid delays due to embarrassment that let funds cross borders or multiple accounts.

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