FTC Claims Crypto Fraud Victims Have Lost Over $1 Billion Since 2021

The FTC provides an overview of crypto scams in the United States. Scams that would have cost the victims over a billion dollars.

The world of cryptocurrencies continues to attract all sorts of scammers. In total, victims have lost over $1 billion since the start of 2021 through various scams, according to a recently released FTC report. Between January 2021 and March 2022, more than 46,000 people filed a fraud complaint with the US agency. The average loss is $2,600.

FTC gives insight into US crypto scams

And the coins that are most often used in scams are also the most popular. For example, 70% of scammers used Bitcoin as a payment method, followed by Tether (10%) and Ether (9%). Ether is currently the main currency for NFTs, a relatively new crypto market where scammers are cashing in.

Cryptocurrency investment fraud is the most common type reported to the FTC and is responsible for at least $575 million in losses. Typically, these scams target amateur investors, promising them big returns on their initial investment. “These scammers claim they can easily and quickly generate income for investors. But these crypto-currency “investments” go straight to the scammer’s wallet,” FTC’s Emma Fletcher writes on her blog.

Scams that would have cost the victims more than a billion dollars

Romance scams also make up a large share of the $185 million loss scam. Most of these scammers contact victims through social media or dating apps. Among the “pig slaughtering” techniques used, criminals establish a false relationship with the victim in order to convince them to invest in cryptocurrencies. According to CoinTelegraph, this process is becoming more and more popular.

It is important to clarify that this FTC report only offers a very small overview of all crypto scams, as the US agency only counts reports submitted directly by victims. According to another FTC study, less than 5% of fraud victims report it to the government, and possibly even fewer to the FTC. As the cryptocurrency continues to grow in popularity, the number of scams is also skyrocketing. Some time ago, the Chainanalysis platform estimated that rogue addresses received more than $14 billion worth of crypto last year, more than double that of 2020.