According to a study published by the Federal Trade Commission, since the beginning of 2021, cryptocurrency scams have caused over 46,000 people in the United States to lose more than one billion dollars (FTC). A government agency in the United States discovered that the average amount of money lost in cryptocurrency transactions in 2019 was $US2600, which is equivalent to around $3610 in Australian currency.
The most popular cryptocurrencies that were utilized to make payments to con artists were bitcoin (70%), tether (10%), and ether (5%). (9 per cent). A little less than half of those who have reported losing cryptocurrency to a scam have said that it began with an ad, post, or message on one of the social media platforms. Instagram was found to be the most popular platform, accounting for 32% of the total, followed by Facebook (26%), WhatsApp (9%), and Telegram (7 per cent).
The vast majority of the scams were false investment offers, resulting in a loss of $575 million USD (or $798.5 million AUD) in cryptocurrency. According to the research published by the FTC, “the tales individuals relate about these scams create a perfect storm: false promises of fast money coupled with people’s inadequate crypto knowledge and expertise.”
Following closely on the heels of corporate and government impersonation frauds were romance scams, which were the second most prevalent kind of fraud. According to the findings of the survey, respondents between the ages of 20 and 49 were more than three times as likely to report losing cryptocurrency to a fraudster than respondents in older age groups.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning to the public, stating that “no cryptocurrency investment is ever guaranteed to produce money.” The FTC provided some guidance to assist individuals in avoiding future frauds.
The Federal Trade Commission has said that it is a fraud if a new romantic interest offers to teach you how to invest in cryptocurrency or asks you to transfer them cryptocurrency.
The announcement comes on the heels of a report published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which said that Australians had lost a total of $113 million to crypto scams in only the first four months of 2022. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) warned the general public to be aware of anybody who requests to be paid in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum, since this is the most popular form of payment used in fraudulent investment schemes.
“Australians should be extremely careful of anybody offering them to invest in or transfer money using cryptocurrencies,” warned Delia Rickard, the Deputy Chair of the ACCC. “This is particularly true if it’s someone you have just met online,” she said.
“Many customers are inexperienced with the technicalities of cryptocurrencies and this might make them more susceptible to scams.”
