Online crypto frauds surged in the United States, and online scammers stole $2.5 billion in cryptocurrency in 2022. The FBI’s annual Internet Crime Report highlights increased online crypto scams.

Online frauds resulted in losses of more than $10 billion, including $2.5 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2022, as per a recent report from the FBI. The regulatory authorities received 800,944 complaints in 2022, a 5% decrease from 2021. But the loss rose from $6.9 billion in 2021 to $10.2 billion in 2022. The loss amount marks the highest annual loss during the last five years.

Comparison Of the Past Five Years of Online Crypto Frauds

The FBI leverages IC3 to gather intelligence and internet crime data to cope with online fraud. IC3 was established in 2000 to receive complaints regarding online fraud, and it has received more than 7 million complaints.

During the last five years, the IC3 has received an average of 652,000 online fraud complaints annually. The complaints cover a broad range of internet scams and impact victims worldwide. As a whole, IC3 received 3.26 million complaints during the last five years, and victims suffered losses of $27.6 billion during the same period.

In the last five years, the top five online frauds have been tech support, extortion, non-payment or non-delivery, personal data breach, and phishing.

Online Frauds Recoveries

IC3 also managed a recovery team named Recovery Asset Team (RAT), which recovered $645,000 for a victim named “Seattle.” The incident took place in September 2022.

IC3 received a call from the Charlotte field office seeking assistance for his clients. Clients were purchasing a home priced at $400,000 and received a spoof email to transfer the amount. The client felt that the email address was a scam. So RAT immediately responded and saved the whole amount of online fraud, $400,000.

The Online Frauds Schemes Known As Romance Crypto Also Gained Popularity

According to a study by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), online fraud scams have impacted thousands of Americans. Scams led to a loss of $185 million for the victims from January 2021 to March 2022.

Fraudsters often target exposed individuals, romantically interested in them. When they win the trust of the targeted individuals, they persuade them to invest in a suspicious cryptocurrency venture. These fraudsters make false claims that the returns from the investment could fund a future wedding or romantic getaway.