Coinspeaker
New FBI Report Details Extent of Damage of Crypto-Related Frauds
The unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that is dedicated to Internet Crime Complaints has published a Cryptocurrency Fraud Report for 2023. According to the report, there is a growing number of losses that link right back to crypto scams. However, only 10% of the total complaints that the department received were associated with crypto.
Despite being a relatively small percentage, though, there seems to be an interesting revelation about these crypto frauds from the detailed report. That is, the fact that crypto frauds were responsible for nearly half of all the financial losses registered by the FBI in 2023.
The FBI claimed that it received a total of 69,000 complaints last year and was able to determine some statistics. Per the report, the agency found that fraudulent investment schemes were the most prominent, accounting for 71% of the crypto-related complaints filed. Furthermore, the FBI determined that these frauds targeted individuals of 60 years of age and more, as the demographic ended up losing nearly $1.6 billion throughout the year. Call centre fraud and government impersonation scams also accounted for around 10% of the reported cases.
FBI Report Highlights P2E Scams and Crypto ATMs
According to the FBI report, complaints came in from more than 200 countries around the world. However, the United States of America saw the most incidents. The agency noted that most of the losses came from confidence schemes, hence why it has now advised the general public against taking investment advice from individuals not known in person.
Furthermore, the report claimed that play-to-earn scams and businesses falsely claiming to recover lost crypto assets are also coming up with intense force.
Lastly, the FBI mentioned that there were at least 5,500 cases involving crypto ATMs (kiosks), which led to losses of over $189 million. The report claims that scammers prefer to use the machines because of the anonymity it gives them. That being because they are able to leverage that in their attempt to cover their tracks after carrying out various schemes, including customer service fraud, extortion, and romance scams.
What Next?
Without a doubt, crypto-related fraud is gradually becoming a menace. So, it has become necessary that there is increased public awareness to bring investors and the general public at large into the knowledge of both old and new tactics being employed by scammers.
In view of this, these findings by the FBI will help the crypto industry to understand that there is an immediate need for improved security measures. That, alongside wider user education and a working partnership with law enforcement agencies.
The report also likely means that regulators will now have to keep a closer eye on the industry than before. This implies stricter regulations and requirements for crypto firms to meet.
New FBI Report Details Extent of Damage of Crypto-Related Frauds
