FBI says crypto fraud skyrocketed 183% in 2022 causing $2,570,000,000 in losses
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says the number of victims of crypto investment scams hit a record in 2022.
In a new one reportThe Bureau says investment scams were the most expensive schemes reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) last year.
Losses incurred by victims of investment fraud rose from $1.45 billion in 2021 to $3.31 billion in 2022, or a 127% increase. Crypto fraudsters raked in $2.57 billion in 2022, up 183% from $907 million in 2021.
“Crypto investment scams saw an unprecedented increase in the number of victims and dollar losses to these investors. Many victims have taken on massive debt to cover losses from these fraudulent investments.”
The report says that victims of investment fraud are mostly between the ages of 30 and 49.
Some of the most widely used crypto schemes involve “liquidity mining,” which lured victims into linking their crypto wallet to malicious applications. Perpetrators also hacked social media accounts to provide fraudulent crypto investment opportunities to existing friends of the compromised user.
Bad actors also impersonated famous celebrities to convince victims to invest in fraudulent opportunities.
Victims were also lured using fake positions in companies allegedly involved in investments. Instead of getting a job, the applicants were given fraudulent investment opportunities.
The fraudsters also targeted real estate agents with offers to buy expensive properties for cash or cryptocurrency.
The report says cybercriminals are increasingly using crypto platforms for their schemes.
“More recently, fraudsters are more often using escrow accounts at financial institutions for cryptocurrency exchanges, or victims sending funds directly to cryptocurrency platforms where the money is quickly dispersed.”
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