New Yorkers have long bragged that the city never sleeps. According to the FBI, the scammers are wide awake too. Fresh federal numbers show the state sitting in fourth place nationwide for both internet crime complaints and reported losses, yet some of the coverage tying that trend strictly to “crypto kiosks” is mashing together data that simply do not belong in the same column.
What the FBI actually reported
In its 2025 annual snapshot, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 1,008,597 complaints nationwide and ranked New York fourth among states with 45,255 complaints. Using the same ranking, New York also placed fourth in total reported losses at about $1,226,307,877, according to the IC3. Those statewide tables lump together every category of internet crime and they sit on a completely different track from the bureau’s crypto specific sections.
Where 'crypto kiosks' fit
The FBI also released a separate state by state supplement focused only on cryptocurrency kiosks, ATM style terminals that let customers turn cash into crypto. That much narrower slice of data tells a very different story. In a public service announcement, the bureau reports 13,460 kiosk related complaints in 2025 across the country with roughly $388,981,267 in adjusted losses. On that kiosk only table, New York is credited with 318 complaints and about $5.78 million in adjusted losses, per the IC3.
Why the tallies do not match
Once you dive into IC3’s main cryptocurrency tables, the numbers shift again. Those crypto specific charts, which cover exchanges, investment schemes and a range of other digital asset frauds, list New York with 8,088 crypto related complaints and roughly $593,370,013 in crypto losses in 2025. On yet another set of pages, the elder fraud tables show New York complainants age 60 and older at 8,537 with about $408,741,632 in losses.
Put together, it is a tangle of overlapping categories that can trip up a quick read. That is how some outlets ended up mixing apples and ATMs. For instance, Long Island Life & Politics paired the $1.226 billion statewide loss figure with “crypto kiosk” language, even though the kiosk only totals are far smaller.
Who is getting targeted and what regulators are doing
One point is crystal clear in the FBI’s kiosk supplement. Older adults are taking a heavy hit, with more than half of kiosk complaints involving people over 50. Regulators have started to react. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a notice in August 2025 spelling out red flags for convertible virtual currency kiosks, and several state attorneys general have launched investigations or filed lawsuits against kiosk operators. The FinCEN notice and the Missouri attorney general’s filing are among the early examples.
How to protect yourself
There is one simple rule that covers a lot of ground. If someone contacts you, insists you must pay immediately and tells you to use a crypto kiosk, hang up or walk away. Legitimate government agencies and reputable businesses do not demand instant payment in cryptocurrency.
If you have already sent money, keep your receipts and transaction IDs, contact your bank and local police, and file a report with IC3 so investigators can see wallet addresses and kiosk locations. The FBI and FinCEN both publish red flags and checklists for victims and for businesses that host kiosks, as outlined in the IC3 guidance and related materials.
Local outreach groups have also urged neighborhood stores to post warning signs near the machines and to train clerks to watch for customers who seem rushed or scared. That quick conversation at the counter can be enough to stop a scam before any cash goes into the kiosk.
