Martha Ezeani 
FBI Reports a 53% Surge In Crypto Investment Fraud In 2023
FBI disclosed in 2023 that crypto-related investment fraud was responsible for most investment losses in the US totaling $3.94b representing over 86% of all such losses.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that investment fraud linked to cryptocurrencies led to the majority of investment losses in the United States in 2023.
According to a recent FBI analysis, losses on cryptocurrency investments climbed by 53% from $2.57 billion in 2022 to around $3.94 billion in 2023. Investors lost a total of $4.57 billion in 2023 across all investments. Cryptocurrency-related fraud accounted for $3.94 billion or over 86% of all investment fraud losses in the country.
The FBI stressed that more and more people are falling for cryptocurrency scams because they could potentially earn large returns on their investments. Romance scams are among the most prevalent cryptocurrency frauds to which victims fall prey. Here a criminal assumes a false online persona in order to win the love and confidence of a victim.
“These scams are designed to entice those targeted with the promise of lucrative returns on their investments.”
They then fabricate a story in an attempt to get the victim to give cryptocurrency, at which point they disappear from sight. According to Chainalysi, in December 2023, at least $374 million in alleged stolen cryptocurrency was the financial loss that occurred as a result of being deceived by romance scams.
On January 1, it was revealed that about 324,000 cryptocurrency users fell prey to phishing scams in 2023, resulting in the loss of approximately $295 million in digital assets to wallet drainers.Other nations are also experiencing a similar issue with their citizens falling for cryptocurrency scams.
In April 2023, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported that Australians lost 221.3 million Australian dollars ($146.9 million) in 2022 due to investment scams involving cryptocurrency as the payment method, marking a 162.4% increase from 2021.