Lost to scams worldwide in 2026
Live estimateAn estimated 369 billion US dollars lost to scams worldwide so far in 2026.
96 reports, page 5 of 5
FTXCrypto
Case file from public records
FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, filed for bankruptcy on 11 November 2022 after a rush of withdrawals revealed it could not repay customers. US prosecutors showed that customer deposits had been secretly moved to Alameda Research, a trading firm c…
Terraform LabsCrypto
Case file from public records
TerraUSD (UST) was an "algorithmic stablecoin" that was supposed to hold a value of one dollar, supported by a sister token, LUNA. In May 2022 UST lost its peg and both tokens collapsed within days, wiping out about $40 billion in market value. Many holders had been drawn in b…
BybitCrypto
Case file from public records
On 21 February 2025 attackers stole about $1.5 billion in ether from Bybit, a Dubai-based crypto exchange, during what looked like a routine transfer out of one of its cold wallets. At the time it was the largest crypto theft ever recorded. On 26 February 2025 the FBI publicly…
Bernard L. Madoff Investment SecuritiesInvestment
Case file from public records
Bernard Madoff ran the largest Ponzi scheme ever uncovered through his New York investment firm, paying "returns" to existing clients with money from new ones for decades. When he was arrested in December 2008, client statements showed about $64.8 billion in balances that did…
OneCoinCrypto
Case file from public records
OneCoin was marketed from 2014 as a cryptocurrency that would rival Bitcoin, mostly through a multi-level marketing network that paid commissions for recruiting new investors. US prosecutors say it had no real blockchain: the company set the coin's value itself, and investors…
Celsius NetworkCrypto
Case file from public records
Celsius Network was a crypto lending platform that paid customers high "rewards" on deposits and told them their money was safe. In June 2022, as crypto prices fell, it froze all withdrawals. A month later it filed for bankruptcy, and more than 100,000 creditors claimed about…
WirecardCorporate
Case file from public records
Wirecard, a German payments company that had joined the DAX index of Germany's largest listed firms, said in June 2020 that €1.9 billion shown on its balance sheet, supposedly held in trust accounts in Asia, most likely did not exist. Days later it filed for insolvency, wiping…
TheranosHealth
Case file from public records
Theranos claimed its compact devices could run hundreds of medical tests from a few drops of blood taken from a finger. Reporting by The Wall Street Journal from 2015, followed by investigations by US regulators, showed the technology did not work as advertised and that many p…
EnronCorporate
Case file from public records
Enron, the Houston energy trader once ranked among America's largest companies, used off-balance-sheet partnerships and aggressive accounting to hide debt and inflate profits. When the scheme unravelled it filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, then the largest bankruptcy in U…
Wells FargoBanks
Case file from public records
In December 2022 the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Wells Fargo to pay more than $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty, the largest the agency had ever imposed on a single financial institution. The CFPB found that the bank's prac…
VolkswagenCorporate
Case file from public records
In September 2015 the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed that Volkswagen had installed software in diesel cars that detected emissions tests and turned on full pollution controls only while being tested. On the road, the cars emitted nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times…
Purdue PharmaHealth
Case file from public records
Purdue Pharma, the maker of the painkiller OxyContin, pleaded guilty in November 2020 to federal criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, over how it marketed the drug. States, cities, tribes and thousands of individuals sued the company and its own…
3MProducts
Case file from public records
From 2003 to 2015 the US military issued dual-ended Combat Arms earplugs made by Aearo Technologies, which 3M acquired in 2008. Hundreds of thousands of current and former service members later sued, saying the earplugs were defective and left them with hearing loss and tinnit…
Ronin NetworkCrypto
Case file from public records
In March 2022 attackers took control of five of the nine validator keys securing the Ronin Network, the blockchain built for the game Axie Infinity, and withdrew about 173,600 ether and 25.5 million USDC from its bridge. The theft, worth about $620 million at the time, went un…
Stanford International BankInvestment
Case file from public records
Stanford International Bank, based in Antigua and controlled by Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, sold certificates of deposit that promised unusually high, steady returns. Prosecutors showed that much of the money was spent on Stanford's other businesses and lifestyle instea…
BitConnectCrypto
Case file from public records
BitConnect promised investors daily returns from a secret "trading bot" and paid promoters to recruit new investors through a referral program. In January 2018 it shut down its lending platform, and its BCC token lost almost all of its value. In February 2022 a federal grand j…