U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has warned against romance scams that use cryptocurrency. The federal agency stated that scammers are using romance to lure victims into making bogus crypto investments. “2021 numbers are nearly five times those reported in 2020, and more than 25 times those reported in 2019,” said the FTC.
FTC Warning About Crypto Romance Scams
On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), issued an alert about romance-related crypto-scams. FTC, an agency independent of the U.S. government, has issued a warning Thursday about crypto-related romance scams.
“New data from the Federal Trade Commission show that more consumers than ever report falling prey to romance scammers. Consumers reported losing $547 million in 2021 alone,” the FTC wrote, adding:
In 2021, scammers used romance to attract people into investing in bogus cryptocurrency.
“Consumers who paid romance scammers with cryptocurrency reported losing $139 million in total in 2021, more than any other payment amount,” the federal agency detailed. “2021 numbers are nearly five times those reported in 2020, and more than 25 times those reported in 2019.”
The FTC also noted that in 2021, consumers reported a loss of nearly $9,000.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, romance scams are:
Many people believe that their online friend is an investor and offers advice about investing.
These romance fraudsters also promote forex trading as a popular method of investing.
But cryptocurrency is not the preferred method of payment for romance scammers. “About 28% of people who reported losing money on a romance scam in 2021 said they paid with a gift card or reload card, followed by cryptocurrency (18%),” the FTC clarified.
This year, the federal agency issued warnings regarding scams that involve cryptocurrency. The federal agency warned of crypto-scams using ATMs and Social Media in January.
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