We must always pay attention to scams on the internet , but unfortunately also (and above all) do not trust the beating of your heart . According to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), so-called “romantic” scammers raised $ 139 million in cryptocurrency last year, five times more than the amount stolen in 2020. Cryptocurrency payments represented the largest fraction of the $ 547 million taken by scammers in the past year, with victims losing on average $ 9,770 in cryptocurrencies .
According to the FTC, romantic scammers (aka catfisher) create fake social profiles using images taken from the Internet and then trick victims into submitting their money . They may claim they need money for a financial crisis, but some scammers pretend to be “investment savvy” and promise to invest their victims' money in cryptocurrency or the stock market.
In addition to cryptocurrencies, the form of payment most commonly requested by romantic scammers was gift cards : 28% of victims paid their “lover” for a total of 36 million dollars faded. Victims also paid a total of $ 121 million via wire transfers and other forms of payment.
The FTC warns that certain signals should raise the alarm, such as when someone you meet online asks for a payment in gift cards, cryptocurrencies or by wire transfer . And if you suspect your interlocutor, just search for the profile photo via an image search to see if it has been used elsewhere.
The world of scams is huge, last year, the FBI warned of a scam in which the bad guys convinced the victims with promises of wealth or love to put their cash in cryptocurrency ATMs and then send the newly purchased coins to the scammer via a QR code.
