The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says that investors lost a record $5.6 billion U.S. to cryptocurrency scams in 2023.
The U.S. federal law enforcement agency added that cryptocurrency-related financial crimes increased 45% last year from levels seen in 2022.
According to a new report from the FBI, investment fraud was the most common scam perpetrated on investors when it came to cryptocurrency.
Of nearly 70,000 reports of crypto-related crime last year, nearly half were reports of investment fraud, said the FBI, noting that fraudsters made off with $4 billion U.S.
Investment fraud schemes involving crypto often promise the victims the opportunity to make large returns with minimal risk.
In 2023, the most common type of crypto investment fraud involved what’s often referred to as “pig butchering.”
This type of scam takes place over long periods as scammers develop relationships with victims before encouraging them to invest large sums of money in fraudulent crypto platforms.
While victims aged of 30-49 filed the most complaints related to crypto scams last year, people over the age of 60 reported the most losses at more than $1.24 billion U.S., said the FBI.
American investors accounted for 83% of all the crypto fraud reports received by the FBI last year, with California residents logging both the most complaints and losses at $1.2 billion U.S.
