According to official information from the British government, more than 7,000 users say they have been victims of scams involving cryptocurrencies.
According to report published by Action Fraud, a British company responsible for recording and parameterizing scams and cybercrime, the number of victims of scams involving cryptocurrencies increased 30% compared to the year 2020.
There are more than 200 million dollars lost due to scams, with an average ticket of approximately 28 thousand dollars.
modus operandi
According to Action Fraud, most scams occur because of “celebrity endorsements”: criminals create attractive and well-articulated marketing campaigns to build credibility. For this purpose, false testimonials are published on their platforms, as well as photos of famous people, generating a false sense of security.
About 79% of victims of scams involving digital coins in the UK claim to have invested in scams of this nature.
Craig Mullish, chief detective with the London City Police, believes that as people are spending more time online, it has become easier for criminals to find new victims:
“Allegations of fraud involving cryptocurrencies have grown significantly over the past few years, which is no surprise given that everyone is spending more time connected to the internet. Being connected means criminals have an even greater chance of approaching unsuspecting victims with fraudulent investment opportunities.”
In addition, Action Fraud warns that most companies that offer investments through digital currencies are not regulated by the British regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Therefore, users who want to venture into uncharted waters will not be able to make use of certain credit protection mechanisms.
It is possible to check, before closing the deal, if there is FCA registration for the company. In addition, it is possible to escape from some troubled companies through the “black list” published by the entity.
