Crypto romance scams held a significant amount in overall crypto scams during last year.
Cryptocurrencies gained huge attention and reached heights that are unattainable for many assets. But with great success comes great threats and risks, and crypto being no exception. On many instances, the fame of cryptocurrencies has attracted many scams. Now it is reported that Romance scams in crypto also have their major chunk.
An analysis says that fraudsters took advantage of digital assets’ popularity and cheated many American citizens. It further added that these scammers used various methods for crypto scams. Moreover it said that Romance scams are one of the most active techniques that scammers use.
In monetary terms, the analysis mentioned, out of more than a billion worth of crypto scams, romance crypto scams account for about $185 million. In Romance Scams, criminals use a fake identity online to gain trust of someone. Then using the sentiment of the fake relationship, the bad actor ends up stealing from the victim.
Growing concerns of Crypto Romance Scams
Crypto scams were already a matter of concern, looking at its significant amount. The Federal Trade Commission recently reported that between January 2021 to March 2022, there were about 4,600 American citizens affected by such scams. These crypto scams resulted in loss of more than $1 billion from victim crypto users.
Further as it was observed by the analysis that about $185 million worth of crypto assets fraud took place as romance schemes. Bankless Times CEO, Jonathan Merry said about the working of these schemes in detail. He said that victims who encounter romance scams get this message the hard way that their heart is not smart enough.
Merry further said that these people search if love and affection makes them vulnerable to such scams. They become easy bait for scammers who ultimately trick them and steal their money. Such bad actors all the time try to trick people and as soon as they fall into the trap, they end up losing their thousands of dollars.
Analysis of Bankless Times also estimated that there are more chances of younger people falling in such traps. It shows several statistics clarifying that most of the time the victims are 20 to 40 years old. On top of that, it also said that the number of people suffering these scams accounts for the most number of victims.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/07/11/romance-scams-in-crypto-reaching-at-alarming-level/