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The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) has revealed that greater than 46,000 individuals have reported shedding over $1 billion in cryptocurrency to scams for the reason that starting of final yr.
FTC Says Scammers Stole Over $1 Billion in Crypto
The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee revealed a “Information Highlight” report on crypto scams Friday. The FTC is the one federal company within the nation with each client safety and competitors jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economic system, the regulator’s web site describes.
Emma Fletcher, senior knowledge researcher on the FTC, wrote:
Because the begin of 2021, greater than 46,000 individuals have reported shedding over $1 billion in crypto to scams – that’s about one out of each 4 {dollars} reported misplaced, greater than some other cost methodology.
Particularly, $680 million in cryptocurrency fraud losses had been reported in 2021. Within the first quarter of this yr, the losses attributable to crypto fraud amounted to $329 million.
The researcher added that the median particular person reported loss is $2,600, noting:
The highest cryptocurrencies individuals mentioned they used to pay scammers had been bitcoin (70%), tether (10%), and ether (9%).
The regulator additional defined that just about half the individuals who reported shedding crypto to a rip-off since 2021 mentioned it began with “an advert, put up, or message on a social media platform.” The highest platforms reported by traders had been Instagram (32%), Fb (26%), Whatsapp (9%), and Telegram (7%).
High frauds by reported crypto losses. Supply: FTC
As well as, of the reported crypto fraud losses that started on social media, most ($575 million) are funding scams, the FTC mentioned. Romance scams got here second, with $185 million in reported cryptocurrency losses since 2021
Folks ages 20 to 49 had been extra more likely to have reported shedding cryptocurrency to a scammer, with these of their 30s being hit the toughest, the regulator famous. Nevertheless, median particular person reported losses elevated with age, topping out at $11,708 for individuals of their 70s.
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Kevin Helms
A pupil of Austrian Economics, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His pursuits lie in Bitcoin safety, open-source techniques, community results and the intersection between economics and cryptography.
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