US crypto investment fraud hits record $2.57 billion – up 183% year-over-year
Cryptocurrency investment fraud in the United States nearly tripled year-over-year in 2022 — making investment fraud the “costliest scheme on record,” according to the FBI’s 2022 Internet Crime Report.
Crypto fraud up 183%
Crypto investment fraud reached a record $2.57 billion in 2022, compared to $907 million in 2021 – a 183% year-over-year increase.
Losses to crypto investment scams accounted for approximately 25% of all money lost to online fraud and scams during 2022, and nearly 90% of the $3.31 billion lost to online investment scams.
Overall, Americans lost a total of $10.3 billion to online fraud during the year, up from $6.9 billion in 2021.
The FBI began collecting data on online fraud in 2000 through its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), and the $10.3 billion lost in 2022 is the highest amount ever stolen by online scammers and fraudsters.
Similarly, crypto-based fraud has also hit a record high over the year, with a large majority of complaints tagged with the “cryptocurrency wallet” descriptor. According to the report:
“Crypto investment scams saw unprecedented rise in victims and dollar losses to these investors.”
Collapse in investment fraud
Bad actors used a variety of ways to target and deceive their victims, according to the FBI.
Some scammers offered victims access to fake liquidity mining platforms. Once the victims linked their cryptocurrency wallets to the said platform, the fraudsters would delete their funds without notice or warning.
Some scammers used hacked social media profiles to offer fake investment offers to the profile’s friends and family, while others used fake celebrity profiles to pull off similar schemes.
Crypto investment scams were not limited to online schemes, and some scammers used fake real estate investment opportunities to steal people’s cryptocurrency. Fake job opportunities were also used to trick people.
The vast majority of investment fraud victims were between the ages of 30 and 49, while about 30% of victims were 60 or older, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the FBI said fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and have recently begun targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and their customers.
“In recent times, fraudsters more often use escrow accounts held at financial institutions for cryptocurrency exchanges or have victims send funds directly to cryptocurrency platforms where funds are quickly dispersed.”
Fraudsters mainly carry out these scams by spoofing phone numbers and compromising business emails.
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