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Between January 2021 and March 2022, US citizens were duped out of almost $1b by cryptocurrency scams, with romance scams accounting for $185 million of the total.
A considerable portion of Americans have expressed interest in cryptocurrencies, according to a Bankless Times research. Scammers have, however, taken advantage of this rising popularity to deceive consumers in a number of ways. Since US people lost $185 million to romance scams between January 2021 and March 2022, they are one of the most popular techniques.
The song “The Heart Is Not So Smart”
Concern over fraudulent schemes involving digital assets has grown in a number of nations throughout the world. According to a recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation, between January 2021 and March 2022, 46,000 Americans were victims of these frauds, and they lost more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency.
The Bankless Times noted further that romance scams cost $185 million in losses. Criminals frequently prey on lonely people by seeming to be interested in having a romantic relationship with them. Before taking part of their money, they establish trust and have personal online relationships with their victims. The CEO of Bankless Times, Jonathan Merry, detailed how the plan operates as follows:
“Victims of romance scams learn that the heart is not so smart the hard way. Their search for love makes them easy pickings for conniving individuals that dupe them out of their money. They put on an elaborate con that has their victims swooning over them, and by the time the victim catches on, they’ll be several thousand dollars poor.”
According to Bankless Times, younger individuals are more likely to fall victim to these fraud artists. Statistics show that people in their thirties suffer the most, and the majority of victims are between the ages of 20 and 40. (35 percent of all losses).
The case of a British guy who lost $200,000 worth of bitcoin in a romance scam was covered by CryptoPotato earlier this year. The man struck up a conversation with Jia, a Hong Kong native. She went on to describe herself as an experienced bitcoin trader with “inside information.” Once she had his confidence, she persuaded him to put part of his funds into a questionable software, promising him that the returns would be substantial. When the British discovered that his balance “had been cleared,” he dispersed around $200,000.
The individual acknowledged that he had attempted suicide as soon as he recognized the hoax. Thankfully, his mother stood by him, and it is because of her that he is still alive today.
What Additional Scams Do Americans Fall For?
According to the aforementioned survey, investment-related fraud continues to be the most common scam utilizing digital assets. Here, crooks paint an image of victims as having the potential to make enormous sums of money quickly by investing in certain ventures. Even “test withdrawals” are permitted so that customers would believe the plan is legitimate and risk-free.
Naturally, victims are unable to withdraw their money once the real “investment” starts, and they end up losing every penny they set aside.
Between early 2021 and March 2022, Americans lost close to $600 million as a result of similar scams. Government and business imposters are also frequent, accounting for almost $130 million of the overall losses.
