As cryptocurrency battles its way into the mainstream, the volume of fraud and scams associated with the unregulated payment system has forged ahead. According to the latest available data from the FTC, more than 46,000 people in the U.S. reported losing an accumulative $1 billion to crypto scams between January 2021 and June 2022. In 2021, losses to crypto scams were 60 times higher than they had been in 2018.
“Cryptocurrency can be a fast, convenient, and inexpensive way to pay for products or services, transfer assets, or conduct other types of transactions online. It also has the potential to be used as a meaningful short-term or long-term investment,” according to a Morgan Stanley blog post, offering an explanation for why so many people are drawn to the promise of crypto.
