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Fraudsters representing Elon Musk have stolen millions of dollars from U.S. consumers to commit cryptocurrency scams because online financial fraudsters want to capitalize on the public interest in trading highly volatile cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Consumers lost more than $ 80 million in cryptocurrency fraud from Oct. 1 to March 31, according to new data from the Federal Trade Commission, which on Monday denounced the “tremendous rise” in this type of fraud.
A cryptocurrency enthusiast and scammer who was the founder of Tesla Musk was responsible for the losses of more than $ 2 million.
According to the regulator, the value of cryptocurrency investment fraud has lost 10 times over the same period last year. More than 7,000 frauds were reported within six months, 12 times more than the previous year.
Investors lost $ 1,900 in fraud, and typically wanted to offer investors tips or “secrets” to help them trade electronic money, the FTC said.
The regulator cited the “Wild West atmosphere” around cryptocurrency culture as a reason to jump into scams, as well as creating fertile ground for scammers targeting young consumers who wanted to make a quick return.
The FTC report saw a sharp drop in the price of bitcoin trading last week after Musk tweeted that electric car manufacturers would no longer accept cryptocurrency as payment for their vehicles, citing concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency “mining”.
Bitcoin traded at less than $ 44,000 on Monday, down from a record low of about $ 20,000 a month ago.
“The promises of tremendous and guaranteed returns are just lies,” the regulator said, adding that scammers have built sophisticated websites that appear as if the value of consumer fictitious cryptocurrency investments is growing.
A common scam was to promise that a celebrity associated with cryptocurrencies would multiply a person’s purchase.
At the beginning of the pandemic, financial assets for the first time began to be traded because young consumers were particularly vulnerable to fraud, the FTC found.
Consumers under the age of 30 lost more money than other types of scams due to investment scams.
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