Social media blamed for $1B in crypto scam losses in 2021
The Federal Trade Commission has labeled social media and crypto a “combustible combination for fraud,” with nearly half of all crypto-related scams originating from social media platforms in 2021.
Published on June 3, the report found that as much as $1 billion in crypto have been lost to scammers throughout the year, which was more than a five-fold increase from 2020, and nearly sixty times up from 2018.
New analysis finds consumers reported losing more than $1 billion in #cryptocurrency to scams since 2021. Most of the losses consumers reported were to bogus cryptocurrency investment scams: https://t.co/MYGTcaw1aS #DataSpotlight /1
As of March 31, 2022, the amount of crypto lost was already approaching half of the 2021 figure, showing that momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing.
The FTC found that Instagram (32%), Facebook (26%), Whatsapp (9%), and Telegram (7%) were the top platforms used for crypto scams.
Interestingly, Twitter, the social media platform widely adopted by the crypto-community, was not mentioned despite being littered with spam and scam bots touting fake crypto-giveaways.
Based on fraud reports to FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, the most common type of crypto scam was Investment Related Fraud, making up $575 million of the total $1 billion figure.
According to the FTC, common investment scams include cases in which a so-called “investment manager” contacts a consumer, promising to grow their money - but only if the consumer buys cryptocurrency and transfers it into their online account.
Other methods include impersonating a celebrity who can multiply any cryptocurrency that a consumer sends them or promises of free cash or cryptocurrency.
The FTC also lists scams that involve investment in fake art, gems
Read more on cointelegraph.com
