The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that cryptocurrency-related investment fraud constituted the largest portion of investment losses within the United States in 2023.
In a recent report, the FBI stated that investment losses involving crypto increased from $2.57 billion in 2022, to around $3.94 billion in 2023, representing a 53% increase.
Meanwhile, the overall amount lost from all investments in 2023 totaled $4.57 billion. This means the $3.94 billion lost in crypto-related fraud made up approximately 86% of all investment fraud losses in the nation.
Investment Fraud Losses Reported to Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Source: FBI/IC3
The FBI emphasized that a rising number of victims are drawn into crypto scams enticed by the promise of significant returns on their investments.
“These scams are designed to entice those targeted with the promise of lucrative returns on their investments.”
One of the most common crypto scams that people are falling victim to is romance scams. This is where a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust, before creating a story to persuade the victim to send crypto, only to disappear after.
In December 2023, Chainalysis reported that romance scams was the cause for at least $374 million in suspected stolen crypto in 2023.
Related: 4 tips that’ll keep your crypto safe from hackers this bull market
Meanwhile, on January 1, Cointelegraph reported that over 324,000 crypto users fell victim to phishing scams in 2023, with around $295 million in digital assets lost to wallet drainers.
However, the rise in citizens falling victim to crypto scams isn’t just in the U.S.,other countries worldwide are also experiencing a similar issue.
In April 2023, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported that Australians lost 221.3 million Australian dollars ($146.9 million) from investment scams where crypto was used as the payment method in 2022 — a 162.4% increase from 2021.
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