From January 2021 to March 2022, consumers lost more than $1 billion in digital asset scams. This is stated in the report of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The agency cited 46,000 people who reported the scam. Victims of fictitious investment schemes have lost more than any other – $575 million since January last year, according to a press release.

In second place are scams related to dating and romantic relationships. Third – fake representatives of companies or government.

“About half of consumers who report cryptocurrency scams said it started with an ad, post or social media post,” the FTC said.

According to the agency, people aged 20 to 49 were three times more likely than senior citizens to complain about digital asset scams.

“[…] Cryptocurrency is fast becoming the preferred choice for many attackers, with about one dollar lost due to fraud,” the article states.

The average amount lost was $2,600. The victims mostly transferred bitcoin (70%), USDT (10%), and Ethereum (9%) to the scammers.

Recall that in February, the FTC estimated the loss from fraud in online dating services at $ 547 million – one-fifth of this amount fell on cryptocurrencies.