Crypto frauds have cost people almost $1 billion since 2021
Key takeaways:
- According to a statement released by the Federal Trade Commission on Friday, almost 46,000 people say they lost over $1 billion in crypto to frauds since 2021.
- Losses prior year were almost sixty times what they were in 2018, with a median personal loss of $2,600.
According to a notice released by the Federal Trade Commission on Friday, almost 46,000 individuals say they lost over $1 billion in crypto to cons since 2021.
Losses last year were about 60 times what they were in 2018, with a median individual failure of $2,600.
The FTC states that the top cryptocurrencies people said they used to pay crooks were bitcoin (70%), tether (10%), and ether (9%).
One essential feature of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is that payment transfers are final and can’t be reversed. This isn’t always the right thing. Chargebacks — a tool designed to save customers — lets consumers change a transaction if they claim they have been fraudulently charged for a good or service they did not get.
About half the people who reported losing crypto to fraud since 2021 said it began with some news on a social media platform. The top platforms noted in these complaints were Instagram (32%), Facebook (26%), WhatsApp (9%), and Telegram (7%).