Over 46,000 people reported losing more than $1 billion in crypto scam incidents since the start of 2021, according to a June 3 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report. Almost half of the people who reported losing digital currencies in a crypto scam said that it began with an ad, post, or message on a social media platform.
The craze for cryptos was at a fever pitch in 2021, with bitcoin exploding to reach a record high of $69,000 in November.
Reports point to social media and cryptocurrency as a combustible combination for fraud, as highlighted by the FTC. The agency added that around $575 million of all losses that are related to digital currency frauds were about some “bogus investment opportunities”.
Buy Crypto NowAlmost four out of every ten dollars lost in a fraud that came from social media was lost in a crypto scam, which is more than any other payment method, with WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and Facebook being the top social media spaces in these cases, according to the report.
The average reported loss for a person was $2,600, and Tether, Bitcoin, and Ether were the top cryptos that people used to pay the scammers, the FTC highlighted.
