FBI Data Show Which Wire Scams Grew. Here's How to Stay Safe.

On September 17, 2026, the FBI warned that its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) logged nearly 61,000 complaints about scammers posing as police or government officials between January 2025 and July 2026. Losses topped $1.6 billion, and bank wires were among the payments demanded. For you, the point is simple: a wire you were tricked into approving usually isn't something your bank must refund. Checking before you send, and calling your bank within minutes if something goes wrong, matter more.

Key takeaways

Losses grew in every wire-linked scam type in 2025, but unevenly, and the FBI publishes no wire-only total. The FBI's 2025 IC3 report shows government-impersonation losses up 97% and tech-support losses up 46%. Business email compromise (BEC), the scam most tied to wires, rose 10% to $3.05 billion, but that is only about 3% above 2023.
The average reported BEC loss fell from about $129,200 to about $123,000 per complaint. The FBI froze more money than in 2024 ($679 million against $562 million), but a smaller share of what was at stake: 58% against 66%.
Regulation E's general rules, the federal rules behind most bank-transfer refunds, exclude Fedwire and similar wire systems. Wires fall instead under UCC Article 4A, which each state enacts and the Federal Reserve's Regulation J adopts for Fedwire. Under it, a wire you authorized is your order, even if a scammer lied to get it. Consumers sending money abroad get one extra federal right: a 30-minute cancellation window.
Speed is the main lever. In 2025 the FBI's Recovery Asset Team helped freeze $679 million of $1.16 billion in attempted thefts. FinCEN says recovery of international wires is most likely when they are reported within 72 hours.
The best prevention is confirming payment instructions by calling a number you already have, never one from the message that sent them.

What it means for you

If you are buying a home: treat any email that changes wiring instructions as a scam until you confirm it by phone with your agent or title company, using a number you saved earlier (see "Four ways wire scams work").

If you are an older adult, or help one: in IC3's figures for people 60 and older, losses to government impersonators roughly doubled in 2025, to $413 million, and investment-fraud losses rose 92%. Tech-support scams were still the second-largest crime type by losses for that age group, after investment, at $1.04 billion, though up only about 6%. The FTC says it will never tell you to move money "to protect it" or withdraw cash, and the FBI says real officials never call or text to demand payment (see the FAQ).

If you run a small business or freelance: invoice redirection is the classic BEC pattern, and written payment rules agreed with your bank carry legal weight under Article 4A (see "Why a wire is hard to undo").

If you send money abroad: as a consumer, you can usually cancel within 30 minutes if the money hasn't been picked up or deposited, whether you sent it through a bank or a money-transfer company (see the FAQ for the conditions). If that window has passed, report to law enforcement at ic3.gov within 72 hours, when FinCEN says recovery of fraud-induced wires is most likely.

If you just sent a wire you now doubt: stop reading and call your bank. Then use the steps in "What to do in the first hours".

What the 2025 numbers show

The FBI released its 2025 report on April 6, 2026. Total reported losses rose about 26%, to $20.9 billion, and Americans over 60 reported about $7.7 billion. The FBI's release calls that up 37%, but the report's own table shows complaints from that age group up 37% and their losses up 59%. The table covers crime types where wires play a large role, using losses as victims reported them; many never file.

IC3 crime type	2024 losses	2025 losses	Change	Wire/ACH share of reported payment types (2025)
Business email compromise	$2.77 billion	$3.05 billion	+10%	86%
Tech/customer support	$1.46 billion	$2.13 billion	+46%	20%
Government impersonation	$406 million	$798 million	+97%	21%
Confidence/romance	$672 million	$929 million	+38%	21%
Investment	$6.57 billion	$8.65 billion	+32%	19% (72% crypto)

Three caveats keep "rising" in proportion. IC3 combines wires and ACH payments, so no wire-only total exists. BEC losses were $2.95 billion in 2023, so the two-year rise is about 3%.

The third caveat concerns home purchases. IC3's "Real Estate" category, which rose from $174 million to $275 million, covers rental, timeshare and real estate investment fraud. The closing-fund diversions the report describes are labeled "BEC/Real Estate" instead.

Federal Trade Commission data point the same way: people reported losing about $16 billion to fraud in 2025, roughly 25% more than in 2024. In March 2026 testimony to Congress, the FTC said bank payments caused the largest losses of any payment method in 2025, without a dollar figure. Its 2024 data book put "bank transfer or payment" losses at $2.09 billion, with a separate "wire transfer" category at $287 million.

Four ways wire scams work

Redirected invoices and payments

The FBI defines BEC as a scam aimed at businesses and individuals who regularly pay by wire. Criminals take over or imitate email accounts, phone numbers or video-meeting identities and send new payment instructions, and the 2025 report counts more than $30 million in BEC losses involving AI. In one case it describes, an Oregon city government's bank recalled a $6 million wire because the recipient account had already been flagged in an earlier FBI freeze request.

Diverted home-closing funds

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes the usual pattern: days before closing, an email posing as your agent announces last-minute wiring changes. The FBI's report describes a Missouri senior, in a complaint received in March 2025, who got fake "title company" instructions for more than $1.3 million; the recipient account was frozen. In an August 2025 complaint, home buyers' wire of more than $449,000 was still fully on hold when the FBI's freeze request reached the recipient bank.

A June 2026 FBI alert warns of impostors posing as owners of vacant land to sell it. Red flags include a "seller" who wants payment by international wire or to an account in a different name; the alert suggests buyers send a certified letter to the address on the land tax record.

"Protect your money" impersonation

The FBI's "Phantom Hacker" alert lays out a layered script. A fake tech-support agent hands you to a fake bank fraud department. A fake government official may follow, and you are pushed to move savings to a "safe" account by wire, cash or cryptocurrency, often to recipients overseas.

The September 2026 alert adds callers posing as police who threaten arrest, and fake jury-duty fines. The FTC says it will never tell you to transfer money "to protect it," withdraw cash or buy gold to hand to someone.

Romance and investment schemes

Investment fraud was the largest loss category in 2025, at $8.65 billion. Cryptocurrency was its most often reported payment type (72%), yet 19% of its reported payment types were wire or ACH. For romance scams the share was 21%.

Why a wire is hard to undo

Regulation E excludes "any transfer of funds through Fedwire or through a similar wire transfer system" used mainly between banks or businesses (12 CFR 1005.3(c)(3)). The official commentary sends phone-initiated Fedwire payments to the security-procedure rules of UCC Article 4A. Each state enacts Article 4A with its own variations, and for Fedwire the Federal Reserve's Regulation J incorporates it as federal law. Three Article 4A rules (model text) explain most outcomes:

Authorized means yours. Under section 4A-202, an order you authorized binds you. Even an order you did not authorize can bind you if the bank followed a commercially reasonable security procedure you agreed to, in good faith, and obeyed any written restriction you gave it. Under section 4A-203, you are not bound if you prove the order wasn't caused, directly or indirectly, by anyone you entrusted with payments or by someone who got access or security details from a source you control.
Cancellation needs the bank's agreement. Under section 4A-211, once a receiving bank accepts a payment order, you cannot cancel it unless that bank agrees or a funds-transfer system rule allows it. Once the recipient's bank has accepted it, even an agreed cancellation works only if the order was unauthorized or a sender's mistake produced a duplicate, an overpayment or a payment to someone not entitled to it. That is why a "recall" is a request, not a right.
The number wins over the name. Under section 4A-207, a recipient's bank that doesn't know the name and account number belong to different people may pay by number. It does not have to check that they match.

Whether federal consumer protection reaches the step between you and your own bank in an online wire is being tested in court. Article 4A does not apply to a funds transfer any part of which is governed by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, with an exception for some remittance transfers. In New York's lawsuit against Citibank, a federal judge declined on January 21, 2025 to dismiss the state's claims under that act, calling the scope question one "of first impression." The Second Circuit heard the interlocutory appeal on April 6, 2026, and the public docket showed no decision as of October 5, 2026.

This article is general education, not legal advice. Your account agreement, your state's law and the facts of your case decide what you can recover. For a large loss, a lawyer who handles banking disputes can review them.

What to do in the first hours

The FBI's report says that when you discover a fraudulent transfer, "time is of the essence." The order below follows its guidance and FinCEN's April 2026 fact sheet:

Call your bank's fraud line, using the number on your card or statement. Ask for a recall of the wire, and ask what indemnification or hold-harmless documents it needs. IC3's BEC guidance says getting these quickly "may reduce or eliminate" losses. For an international wire, ask for the SWIFT payment reference.
File at ic3.gov whatever the amount. Include your account and bank, the recipient's name, account number and bank, the date, amount and currency, and any onward transfers you know of. With those details, the Recovery Asset Team can start its Financial Fraud Kill Chain freeze process. It can chase "second hop" transfers and route overseas cases through FinCEN. Filing does not guarantee a freeze.
For international wires, don't wait. FinCEN's Rapid Response Program is activated by a law enforcement referral, so do not contact FinCEN directly. Its chances are best when the wire is reported to law enforcement within 72 hours. From January 20, 2025 to the fact sheet's April 2026 date, it interdicted $120.5 million in BEC funds.
Tell everyone in the transaction, including your title company, attorney or the vendor you meant to pay, so the next payment isn't diverted too.

Results vary: in the 642 freeze requests for victims aged 60 or older, about 50% of the money was frozen, against 58% across all 3,900.

Illustrative example. A buyer wires $80,000 to a fake title account at 11 a.m. The scammer moves $30,000 onward at 1 p.m. and $40,000 more at 4 p.m.

Still in the account = $80,000 - money already moved out
Freeze at noon: $80,000 - $0 = $80,000 (100%)
Freeze at 2 p.m.: $80,000 - $30,000 = $50,000 (62.5%)
Freeze at 5 p.m.: $80,000 - $70,000 = $10,000 (12.5%)

A few hours separate a full freeze from one-eighth of one, unless the onward transfers can also be traced and frozen. Frozen money still has to be returned through the banks before it is back in your account.

Frequently asked questions

What is a hold-harmless letter, and why does IC3 mention it?

It is a kind of written indemnity, a promise to cover a bank's loss if returning the money later proves wrong. IC3 tells victims to request a recall together with hold-harmless or indemnification documents, because getting them quickly may reduce or eliminate losses. IC3 does not define the documents, and procedures differ between banks, so ask yours exactly what it needs and who must sign.

Someone offered to recover my lost wire. Is that the FBI?

Almost certainly not. A July 2026 FBI alert says IC3 never contacts people directly by phone, email or social media and never asks for payment to recover funds. Scammers target past victims with fake "IC3" profiles and lookalike sites, so type www.ic3.gov yourself.

Can I cancel a transfer I just sent abroad?

Often, if you are a consumer and act within 30 minutes. The federal remittance rule covers money-transfer companies and also banks, whose consumer international wires count as remittance transfers. A covered provider must cancel if you ask within 30 minutes of paying, give enough detail to identify you and the transfer, and the money hasn't been picked up or deposited. It must then refund the full amount, including fees, within three business days.

Transfers scheduled in advance follow different timing. The rule does not cover transfers of $15 or less, business payments, or providers that sent 500 or fewer remittance transfers in both the previous and the current calendar year.

Will police or a government agency call to demand a wire?

The FBI's September 2026 alert says law enforcement and government officials never call or text to demand any form of payment. They also never ask for payment by prepaid card, cryptocurrency or courier. To check a caller, find the agency's number from official sources yourself rather than using any number the caller gives.

Where can an older adult get help reporting a wire scam?

The National Elder Fraud Hotline, (833) 372-8311, helps people aged 60 and older file IC3 complaints. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. IC3 also advises asking your bank to recall any wire and contacting the three major credit bureaus to protect your credit.

Before you send your next wire

Save your agent's, title company's or vendor's number at the start of the deal. Confirm every set of wire instructions by calling that number, never one from the email. The CFPB also suggests agreeing on a code phrase.
Treat any change of account details, especially at the last minute, as a scam until it is confirmed by phone. IC3 recommends a second channel for any change request.
On your phone, expand the sender's full email address before acting on payment instructions.
Ask your bank whether it can add a callback, a lower wire limit or a second approver for your account, and put it in writing. Under section 4A-202, a bank can rely on its security procedure to hold you to an unauthorized wire only if it also followed any written restriction you gave it in time to act.
If anyone says your money is unsafe and must be moved, hang up. Call your bank using the number on your card.