Top investor threats reported by state securities regulators in 2024 included digital assets, "pig butchering" scams and other technology-based schemes, according to the North American Securities Administrator Association's 2025 enforcement report.
The report also underscores the growing complexity of fraudulent schemes fueled by artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, as well as state securities regulators’ use of technology in their investigations.
In 2024, state securities regulators conducted 8,833 active investigations, including 4,937 new and 3,896 ongoing cases, and initiated 1,183 enforcement actions.
These actions led to more than $259 million in monetary fines and restitution, and criminal relief of about 288 years of incarceration and 253 years of probation and deferred adjudication.
Investment frauds connected to social media use have been identified as "significant dangers," the report states, "as regulators note that scammers continue to exploit platforms such as Facebook, Twitter/X.com, WhatsApp, and others to target and reach unsuspecting investors."
Securities regulators also identified real estate investments as a top threat in 2024.
"With the evolution of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, fraudulent schemes are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and infinitely more challenging to investigate," according to the report.
“Scammers are increasingly hiding behind screens and algorithms to exploit investors with sophisticated, tech-driven schemes. The 2025 Enforcement Report makes clear that state securities regulators are not only keeping pace, they remain a trusted line of defense,” said NASAA's president, Marni Rock Gibson. “Through proactive investigations, strategic partnerships, and decisive enforcement actions, NASAA members are committed to protecting the public from financial harm in an evolving digital landscape.”
Regulators reported significant investigations into digital assets (463), social media fraud (175) and impersonation schemes (81). States also reported opening 229 investigations that involved pig butchering — where victims are encouraged to make increasing financial contributions over a long period, usually in the form of cryptocurrency — and initiating 19 enforcement actions.
The data for the report is collected via a survey of NASAA members and includes responses from 49 of NASAA’s U.S. member jurisdictions covering the 2024 fiscal and calendar years.
In 2024, state securities regulators reported receiving 8,309 tips and complaints from the public, reflecting a year-over-year increase, along with 1,685 referrals from other agencies — 559 from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, 241 from state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies and 163 from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
State securities regulators also prioritized protecting older investors.
In 2024, they received 3,613 complaints of alleged financial misconduct targeting older investors, leading to 1,652 investigations and 53 enforcement actions involving 676 senior victims. In 2024, the top products and schemes in investigations involving senior victims were digital assets (151), pig butchering (91), stocks and similar equities (75), social media fraud (69) and promissory notes (51).
Within the licensed securities industry, regulators reported opening investigations of registered parties, including broker-dealers (282), agents (568), investment advisers (471), and investment adviser representatives (226), the report notes.
Regulators’ investigations resulted in 86 reported enforcement actions against broker-dealer firms, 47 against agents, 100 against investment advisers and 78 against investment adviser representatives.
State regulators also conditioned or suspended the licenses of 100 individuals and 31 firms, and denied nearly 500 individual license applications and more than 150 firm applications for registration.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.