Cryptocurrency holders in the US have been in the eyes of crypto scammers for a long time. Scamming crypto assets to unsuspecting investors on the grounds of love and romance has emerged among the most popular scam methods in the US. This result was found in an analysis conducted by transparency advocate and publisher, BanklessTimes. The report claims that crypto investors in the US lost $185 million (approximately Rs 1,500) between January 2021 and March 2022 to sex scams and totaling over $1 billion. (about Rs 8,000) for other fraudulent activities.
“Victims of love scams learn that the heart is not as wise as the hard way. Their search for love makes it easy for them to pick out scammers who swindle their money. They perform an elaborate hoax that makes their victim swoon over them, and by the time the victim catches them, they will be several thousand dollars poor,” said Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes. said in a statement.
In 2021, a group of Sophos cybersecurity researchers has determined a Bitcoin wallet filled with $1.4 million worth of tokens (about Rs 10) collected by fooling people on popular dating apps like Bumble and Tinder.
In recent times, love fraud cases have also surfaced on social networks.
Nigerian online scammer arrested in Sandton Gauteng.
James Aliyu was arrested at his luxury home in Sandton Johannesburg after defrauding US citizens of nearly Rs 296 million in scams. His criminal fraud involves Romance scams through online dating sites and business scams. pic.twitter.com/4BF6b8JDx2
– Vehicle Tracking (@VehicleTrackerz) July 1, 2022
In fact, the unit of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in El Paso, Texas, also posted a tweet warning online dataers against sharing personal and sensitive information with potential suitors.
Be careful what you post and publicize online. Scammers can use details shared on social networks and dating sites to better understand and target you in a romance scam. For more self-protection tips, visit: https://t.co/NcmZNW6Y1m pic.twitter.com/p9kq3MOxyr
– FBI El Paso (@FBIElPaso) July 10, 2022
The report further highlighted that younger people, between the ages of 20 and 40 in the US, are more at risk of being scammed than older investors.
The hardest hit were those in their thirties, who suffered 35% of the damage.
On the other hand, when the elderly Cryptocurrency investors When scammed, they tend to lose more money – even as high as $12,000 (about Rs 9.5 lakh) in these scams.
Along with romance scams, Americans are also losing money to investment scams.
Investment scammers promise huge profits quickly, only for them to transfer funds to cryptocurrency wallet. Others set up fake websites that allow investors to monitor their crypto portfolios while also offering ‘test withdrawals’.
Business and government impersonators are also constantly tracking down possible victims.
“These caused a loss of $133 million (approximately Rs 1,100). These involve the scammer impersonating someone with authority and then obtaining the victim’s information,” the report notes.
