The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report in which it wised to raise concerns around the rising crypto scams. According to the agency, more than $1 billion worth of digital assets have been lost to crypto frauds since the start of 2021. The commission has calculated that some $575 million in investments has been lost to crypto scams.
Nearly 70 percent of the affected people paid in Bitcoin, while 10% processed their transactions by means of Tether, USDT. 9% were reported to have lost via Ethereum.
The FTC also revealed the most affected demographic. People between the ages of 20 and 49 were most likely to fall victims of crypto scams. This has to do with the heavy promotional campaigns run on popular social media sites and apps by fraudulent actors.
The FTC commented that none of the false get-rich-quick schemes promoted by platforms actually work. All of the invested funds that users are solicited to deposit go directly to the scammers’ own accounts, furthering future scammer projects as well as financing undeserved high-rise lifestyles.
In its own words, the FTC asserts that, “Only scammers will guarantee profits or big returns. No cryptocurrency investment is ever guaranteed to make money, let alone big money.”
It has been reported that many fraudulent entities allow for a “test: withdrawal, enough to convince the user of a false sense of security. Cashing out after that is impossible, with the platform cutting off all communication channels.
