News report

The FBI's April 6, 2026, release of its annual Internet Crime Report highlighted a prevention result: Operation Level Up had notified more than 8,000 people about cryptocurrency-investment fraud and was credited with preventing more than $500 million in estimated losses since its start.

The operation began in January 2024 with FBI and U.S. Secret Service support. It identifies people who may still be sending money into fraudulent schemes and contacts them directly, seeking to interrupt further payments rather than waiting solely for a report after losses are complete.

The FBI's detailed program page gives a December 2025 snapshot of 8,103 people notified, with 77 percent unaware they were being scammed. Its estimated savings calculation compares average losses reported by contacted people with average losses in the broader category of complaints.

That method means the savings figure is an estimate of losses avoided, not a total of money seized or returned. The distinction keeps a preventive intervention separate from recovery after a transfer. The annual release also directs people to the Internet Crime Complaint Center to preserve information and report suspected fraud.

Because scammers can impersonate public officials, the program explains how a recipient can verify an agent through an FBI field office. It says Level Up personnel do not direct people to send money into a financial account or ask for passwords. The published information combines the dated outreach result with a way to confirm that a warning itself is legitimate.

Sources