Golden State hit hardest by crypto crime, $1B+ lost in 2023
In 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received nearly 70,000 complaints of cryptocurrency crime and reported a loss of almost $6 billion.
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In 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received nearly 70,000 complaints of cryptocurrency crime and reported a loss of almost $6 billion.
Crimes involving cryptocurrency often happen. As cryptocurrency is still an emerging market, it’s a fertile environment for fraud and extortion.
Threat actors will take advantage of the anonymity behind cryptocurrencies while committing crimes, whether this is through romance or tech support-related scams.
Although this happens worldwide, the FBI has reported that this type of cybercrime has particularly impacted the US.
In its 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, the FBI revealed that certain states experienced the most crypto losses to cyber-enabled crime and financial fraud.
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The state of California was impacted the most, with the FBI reporting cryptocurrency losses of $1.15 billion.
The FBI San Francisco Field Office’s territory recorded losses of approximately $260 million which spanned across 15 counties including Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. The FBI’s San Francisco division also said that 1,200 victims came forward to report crypto-related crimes.
In the US overall, the FBI received tens of thousands of reports of cyber-enabled crime and financial fraud related to cryptocurrency.
According to the FBI, cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes were rife in 2023, with reported losses of almost $4 billion.
The FBI provided tips that may help raise awareness of crypto scams, how threat actors operate, and what to avoid when approached by a potential scammer:
- Threat actors tend to instill a sense of urgency or isolation in their victims, as this will make it more likely that the person will send funds or personal information.
- If you’re called by an unknown number claiming to be a reputable, well-known company or government agency, hang up, the FBI says. Do your research, find the phone number associated with that entity, and confirm whether the call was legitimate.
- No law enforcement or government entity will ask for cryptocurrency payments over the phone or at all, so don’t believe scammers when they start demanding money.
- Don’t give personally identifiable information over the phone, via email, or text unless you are sure of who you’re talking to.
- Social media is a breeding ground for scams, specifically investment fraud schemes. Therefore, you should verify the legitimacy of cryptocurrency investment deals before you send any funds.
- Be wary of impersonation sites or domains that claim to be popular or reputable cryptocurrency exchanges, as scammers will mimic popular websites.
- Avoid downloading dodgy-looking investment apps before verifying them, and perhaps most importantly, if an investment sounds too good to be true, don’t take it.
Crypto scams are all too common. A recent case reported by cryptocurrency crime sleuth ZackXBT found that a group of young men posing as various technical support workers lured an individual in Washington DC to send almost hundreds of millions in cryptocurrency.
This event led to a carjacking and kidnapping of one of the supposed members family.