Crypto fraud to rise 45 percent in 2023 to $5.6 billion, FBI says

According to an estimate by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations, consumers lost more than $5.6 billion (approximately Rs 47,029 crore) to cryptocurrency fraud last year, a 45 percent increase from 2022.

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received nearly 69,500 complaints from consumers in the U.S. and internationally last year, according to a report released Monday.

According to the report, cryptocurrency complaints represented about 10 percent of total financial fraud complaints, but associated losses amounted to nearly 50 percent of total losses.

After a crypto market decline in 2022, token prices began to rise last year, sparking renewed interest from criminals. Bitcoin more than doubled last year and is up about 35 percent in 2024.

“As the use of cryptocurrencies in the global financial system continues to grow, so too does their use by criminals,” Michael Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, wrote in the report.

Criminals used cryptocurrency the most in investment fraud, with losses accounting for nearly 71 percent of the total, the report said. Call center fraud, such as government impersonation fraud, accounted for about 10 percent of cryptocurrency losses.

© 2024 Bloomberg LP

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