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Fraudsters impersonating Elon Musk stole millions of dollars from American consumers in cryptocurrency scams because online financial fraudsters tried to use the public interest to trade highly volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission (Federal Trade Commission), between October 1 and March 31, consumers lost more than $80 million due to cryptocurrency scams. The commission reported on Monday that such fraud ” Substantial Increase”.
The scammers posing as outspoken cryptocurrency fanatics and Tesla co-founder Musk caused more than $2 million in losses.
According to regulators, the value of losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud has increased tenfold over the same period last year. More than 7,000 scams were reported in six months, 12 times the number of the previous year.
The FTC stated that investors lost an average of $1,900 due to scams, usually to provide investors with tricks or “secrets” to help them conduct electronic currency transactions.
Regulators cited the “wild west atmosphere” surrounding the cryptocurrency culture as one of the reasons for the surge in scams, and the “mystery element” provides fertile ground for fraudsters who target young consumers who want quick returns.
After Musk said on Twitter last week that electric car manufacturers will no longer accept the cryptocurrency as payment for their vehicles, due to concerns about the environmental impact of “mining” the cryptocurrency, in the FTC report, Bit The trading price of coins dropped sharply.
On Monday, Bitcoin was trading at just under US$44,000, down about US$20,000 from the record high set a month ago.
The regulator said: “The promise of providing huge, guaranteed returns is just a lie.” It added that fraudsters have set up sophisticated websites, which makes consumers seem to be investing in fictitious cryptocurrency with an ever-increasing value.
A common scam involves promising celebrities related to cryptocurrency to increase a person’s purchases.
The US Federal Trade Commission found that young consumers who first started trading financial assets in record numbers at the beginning of the pandemic were particularly vulnerable to scams.
Consumers under the age of 30 suffer more from investment fraud than any other type of fraud.
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