Consumers Lost Over $1B to Crypto Fraud Since January 2021, FTC Says

Consumers reported they have lost over $1 billion in crypto-linked fraud from January 2021 through March of this year, according to an analysis from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

• The median amount lost was $2,600, said the FTC, citing 46,000 people who have reported being defrauded. The top three cryptocurrencies consumers said they used to pay “scammers” were bitcoin (BTC) at 70%, Tether (USDT) at 10%, and ether (ETH) 9%.
• “Cryptocurrency is quickly becoming the payment of choice for many scammers,” said the FTC, noting about one in every four dollars lost to fraud involves crypto.
• The majority of the scams involve bogus investment schemes, with romance scams and business/government impersonation frauds rounding out the top three.
• Those aged 20-49 were more than three times as likely to report losing money in a fraud as those in older age groups.

Read more: International Tax Consortium Lists ‘Red Flag Indicators’ of Fraud in NFT Marketplaces