05/17/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/17/2021 22:14
Cryptocurrency has gotten lots of attention as a new way to invest. But here's the thing: scammers are taking advantage of people's understanding (or not) of cryptocurrency investments, and how they work. And younger people are losing big.
In fact, the FTC's new data spotlight shows that, since October 2020, nearly 7,000 people reported losses to bogus cryptocurrency investments, adding up to more than $80 million. People ages 20-49 were more than five times more likely than other age groups to report losing money on those scams. But here's an even more striking point: people in their 20s and 30s have lost more money on investment scams than on any other type of fraud. And more than half of their reported investment scam losses - $35 million - were in cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency investment scams can happen in many ways, but they're all full of fake promises and false guarantees. Scammers might post investment sites that look real, but you'll find you can't withdraw the money you've 'invested.' Others pretend to be celebrities - like a would-be Elon Musk - doing giveaways with claims of multiplying any cryptocurrency you send. Scammers also use online dating sites to sweet-talk people into bogus crypto investments in the name of love.
If you're thinking about investing in cryptocurrency:
Read more at ftc.gov/cryptocurrency. Need to report a cryptocurrency scam? Visit Reportfraud.ftc.gov.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC's computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC's Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
This is a moderated blog; we review all comments before they are posted. We expect participants to treat each other and the bloggers with respect. We will not post comments that do not comply with our commenting policy. We may edit comments to remove links to commercial websites or personal information before posting them.
We won't post:
Comments submitted to this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personal information. Also, do not use this blog to report fraud; instead, file a complaint.