Better Business Bureau Warns About Cryptocurrency — BBB Ranks Crypto Scams Second Riskiest – Regulation Bitcoin News

U.S. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), cryptocurrency frauds are now considered second-most dangerous. In addition, the organization noted that “Payment made via cryptocurrency that resulted in a monetary loss more than doubled from 2020.”

BBB Reports on Rising Crypto Scams

U.S. On Friday, the U.S. Better Business Bureau released their 2021 BBB Scam Tracker risk report. “This annual report uses data submitted by individuals and businesses to BBB Scam Tracker to shed light on how scams are perpetrated, who is being targeted, which scams have the greatest impact, and much more,” the report explains.

The BBB was founded in 1912 and is a nonprofit private organization that aims to increase trust on the marketplace.

According to the report:

The risk of cryptocurrency scams has increased from the seventh-most risky in 2020 to second in 2021.

The top spot for the most dangerous online purchase frauds remained at 37.4%. This was according to BBB Scam Tracker 2021. Scams involving employment declined from being the second most dangerous to the third by 2021.

“Although cryptocurrency scams made up only 1.9% of the scams reported to BBB Scam Tracker, the median dollar loss was $1,200, much higher than the overall median dollar loss of $169. More than 66% of people reported losing money when targeted by this scam type,” the report details.

“We received many reports of people being targeted on a variety of social media platforms by scammers offering to help them invest in bitcoin,” the BBB revealed, elaborating:

Payouts made using cryptocurrency resulted more than twice the amount of money lost in 2020.

“Scammers shift their tactics constantly and appear to have expanded their use of cryptocurrency to perpetrate fraud,” said Melissa Lanning Trumpower, executive director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, which produced the report.

The Better Business Bureau’s report also offers some tips to avoid cryptocurrency scams. First, be cautious of those who promise quick cash with minimal risk. Secondly, “scammers could pretend to be your friend on social media by hacking into their accounts,” the report describes.

The BBB also advised to never use an online payment system to pay somebody you don’t know, and always verify if somebody is a broker by checking their information on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) website.

Let us know your thoughts on the BBB’s ranking of crypto-scams second most dangerous. Please comment below.

Kevin Helms

Kevin is a graduate of Austrian Economics. He discovered Bitcoin in 2011, and has been an advocate ever since. He is interested in Bitcoin security and open-source software, network effects, and the intersection of cryptography and economics.