FTC report reveals cryptocurrency scam victims have lost more than $1 billion since 2021
The US' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Friday more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since last year. The FTC said in a statement that the reported losses to crypto scams in 2021 were nearly 60 times what they were in 2018.
- Economy
- Reuters
- Published Date: 09:10 | 03 June 2022
- Modified Date: 11:36 | 03 June 2022
More than 46,000 people reported losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since the start of 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a report on Friday.
Nearly half the people who reported losing digital currencies in a scam said it started with an ad, post or a message on a social media platform, according to the FTC.
The craze for cryptocurrencies was at a fever pitch last year with bitcoin hitting a record high of $69,000 in November.
Reports point to social media and crypto as a combustible combination for fraud, the agency said, adding that about $575 million of all losses related to digital currency frauds were about "bogus investment opportunities".
Nearly four out of every ten dollars lost in a fraud originating on social media was lost in crypto, far more than any other payment method, with Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram being the top social media platforms in such cases, according to the report.
The average reported loss for an individual was $2,600 and bitcoin, tether and ether were the top cryptocurrencies that people used to pay scammers, the FTC said.