The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a report on Friday that since the beginning of 2021, more than 46000 people have reported that they have lost more than $1billion in cryptocurrency scams. According to FTC data, nearly half of those who reported the loss of digital currency in the scam said that the scam began with advertisements, posts or messages on social media platforms. The cryptocurrency boom reached a fever pitch last year, pushing bitcoin to a record high of $69000 last November.
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FTC pointed out that victims' reports showed that social media and cryptocurrency were a combination prone to fraud. Of all losses related to digital currency fraud, approximately $575million related to "false investment opportunities". In fraud originating from social media, nearly $4 of every $10 is lost through cryptocurrency, far more than any other payment method. Instagram (32%), Facebook (26%), WhatsApp (9%) and telegram (7%) are the most common social media platforms in such cases.
FTC said that the median loss reported by the victims was US $2600. Bitcoin (70%), TEDA coin (10%) and ethercoin (9%) are the most commonly used cryptocurrencies for people to pay cheaters.