The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) details the increasing scale and complexity of cryptocurrency fraud.
In its recently released 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, the FBI says the Internet Crime Complaint Center received 69,468 complaints about crypto assets last year.
Reported losses totaled more than $5.6 billion, a 45% increase from 2022, according to the FBI.
“Criminal actors exploit cryptocurrencies for all schemes including technical support, trust and romance, investments and government scams. Investment fraud was the most reported cryptocurrency scheme in 2023 and also had the most reported losses, with losses of approximately $3.9 billion.”
The most vulnerable demographic was the over 60 age group, which reported more than 16,000 crypto-related complaints and suffered more than $1.6 billion in losses in 2023.
California, Florida and Texas were the hardest-hit states, with the highest number of complaints and the greatest losses.
According to the FBI, criminals exploit cryptocurrency due to its decentralized nature, irrevocability of transactions, and significant challenges associated with tracking funds.
FBI Director Chris Wray says:
“Scams targeting investors using cryptocurrency are increasing dramatically in severity and complexity. The best way to help stop these crimes is for people to report them to ic3.gov [Internet Crime Complaint Center website]even though they have not suffered any financial loss. The information allows us to stay informed of emerging schemes and use of the latest technologies by criminals, so we can keep the American public informed and prosecute those who commit these crimes.”
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