Americans Lost More Than $5 Billion in Bitcoin Scams, FBI Says

Americans lost more than $5.6 billion to cryptocurrency scams last year, an FBI report released Monday said. That's up 45% from 2022.

In 2023, the FBI received nearly 70,000 complaints from victims of financial fraud involving bitcoin, ether, and other cryptocurrencies, the agency said. The most common scheme was investment fraud, which accounted for $3.96 billion in losses, the Associated Press reported.

“The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, the speed of irreversible transactions, and the ability to transfer value around the world make cryptocurrency attractive to criminals while also creating challenges for recovering stolen funds,”– said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael Nordwall of the Criminal Investigative Division.

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Scammers often find victims through dating apps or social media and build trust over weeks or months before offering to invest in cryptocurrency, the FBI warned. Once a relationship is built, they convince victims to use fake websites or apps to invest their funds. Sometimes, they will even allow victims to withdraw small amounts of money early on to allay their suspicions.

In some cases, victims are then targeted again by scammers claiming they can help them recover lost cryptocurrency, the FBI said.

The agency notes that people of all ages can fall victim to such scams. The FBI urges the public to be especially wary when offered investment opportunities by people they have never met in real life.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga