Crypto scams cost people more than $1 billion in the US in a year
More than 46,000 people in the US have reported they lost over $1 billion in crypto-linked fraud since the beginning of 2021.
Around 46,000 Americans have lost over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since the start of 2021, according to a report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The US Government agency found that losses in crypto last year were almost 60 times what they were in 2018, with an average loss of $US2600 ($A3610).
The top cryptocurrencies people used to pay scammers were bitcoin (70 per cent), tether (10 per cent), and ether (9 per cent).
Nearly half the people who reported losing crypto to a scam said it started with an ad, post, or message on a social media platform. The top platforms identified were Instagram (32 per cent), Facebook (26 per cent), WhatsApp (9 per cent), and Telegram (7 per cent).
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The majority of the scams were fake investment opportunities, with a crypto loss of $US575 million ($A798.5 million).
“The stories people share about these scams describe a perfect storm: false promises of easy money paired with people’s limited crypto understanding and experience,” the FTC report said.
Romance scams were the second most common type of fraud followed by business and government impersonation cons.
The study also found people aged 20 to 49 were more than three times as likely to report losing crypto to a scammer as older age groups.
The FTC shared some advice to help people avoid future scams, warning “no cryptocurrency investment is ever guaranteed to make money.”
“If a new love interest wants to show you how to invest in crypto, or asks you to send them crypto, that’s a scam,” the FTC said.
The news comes as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed Australians have lost $113 million to crypto scams in just four months of 2022.
The ACCC said people should always be wary of anyone asking to be paid in things like bitcoin and ethereum as cryptocurrency is the most common payment method for investment scams.
“Australians should be very wary of anyone asking them to invest in or transfer money using cryptocurrency, especially if it’s someone you have only met online,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said
“Many consumers are unfamiliar with the complexities of cryptocurrency and this can make them more vulnerable to scams.”
– With NCA NewsWire
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