Texas residents watched $70,409,013 vanish in 2024 after crooks got hold of their personal data, a tally that underscores a fast-rising threat of account takeovers and identity fraud across the state. In many of these cases, criminals used stolen personal information to break into bank and investment accounts, email and devices, and cryptocurrency wallets. Local FBI offices say the total shows just how quickly exposed data can turn into real financial damage for individuals and small businesses.
In a March 9 Facebook post, FBI Dallas tied the figure to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and warned that offenders were withdrawing funds, depleting entire financial accounts and cryptocurrency wallets. The post also shared a year-by-year breakdown of reported Texas personal data breach losses, with roughly $37 million in 2020, $42 million in 2021, $46 million in 2022 and $31 million in 2023.
Those statewide totals feed into IC3’s national numbers. IC3’s 2024 Internet Crime Report shows Americans reported more than $16 billion in losses last year and lists Texas among the states with some of the largest overall losses. According to the report and related FBI field office notices, the top complaint types coming from Texans were extortion, personal data breaches and phishing or spoofing, categories that often overlap as criminals convert stolen information into cash.
The $70.4 million in personal data breach losses marks a clear jump in that category for Texas and comes as fraudsters increasingly move beyond basic identity theft to go after accounts and wallets directly. In response, investigators have been pushing for faster reporting and tougher account safeguards in hopes of cutting off money flows before they are drained.
How thieves use stolen personal data
Stolen personal data is often just the opening move. Once criminals have enough information to impersonate a victim, they can reset passwords, bypass security questions and move money across linked accounts. National IC3 figures show that personal data breaches were among the complaint types that generated some of the largest losses in 2024, with tens of thousands of reports and significant associated dollar amounts. A single breach of core details such as names, Social Security numbers and birthdates can trigger cascading theft from multiple financial accounts. IC3’s 2024 Internet Crime Report lays out the complaint counts and loss estimates that sit behind those patterns.
What Texans should do and reporting obligations
If you suspect your personal information has been exposed, federal officials urge you to move quickly. Start by checking bank and brokerage accounts, changing passwords and turning on multi-factor authentication wherever possible. File a complaint through the FBI’s IC3 portal and notify your financial institutions so they can flag suspicious activity or freeze accounts if needed.
Businesses that suffer a breach have additional responsibilities under Texas law. They must follow state reporting rules for notifying affected individuals and regulators. The Texas Attorney General provides electronic data breach reporting guidance, including required timelines and information companies must submit. Officials say early reporting not only improves the odds of recovering funds but also helps law enforcement spot trends that can fuel larger investigations.
FBI response and local advice
Cybercrime remains a serious and growing threat to Texans, a special agent said in an FBI field office release, urging victims to alert their banks, file complaints through IC3 and contact local law enforcement. FBI El Paso has stressed that IC3 reporting helps investigators build the data sets they rely on to prioritize referrals to local, state and federal partners.
