According to a report made public on Monday by the Federal Trade Commission, allegations of losses from cryptocurrency scams surged from October 2020 to March 2021.
In its Consumer Protection Data Spotlight newsletter, the FTC divulged that during the October to March period almost 7,000 consumers recorded losing US$80 million. In comparison to that, only 570 cryptocurrency scam reports valued nearly $7.5 million in losses from October 2019 to March 2020, reported E-commerce Times.
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The median loss recorded was around $1,900, an almost 1,000 percent spike over the same duration a year ago.
The agency reported that as the price of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin continues to rise, new investors are wishing to get in on the action, and scammers are more than ready to take them on board.
The agency clarified that scammers incorporate themselves into the cryptocurrency arena with claims that can seem reasonable because cryptocurrency is still an unknown territory for most of people.