US residents lost more than $80 million to Bitcoin scammers in six months

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recorded a tenfold increase in cryptocurrency investment scams.

According to the report, from October 2020 to March 2021 the agency received 6,792 reports about scammers. The total losses from their schemes exceeded $80 million.

Data: ftc.gov.

A year earlier, the FTC recorded 570 reports with losses totaling $7.5 million.

Organisers of the scams typically target investors aged 20 to 49.

Most scams operate as pyramid schemes. The most popular methods for finding victims are advertising of “investment tips from experienced traders” and “giving away cryptocurrency on behalf of celebrities”.

The scammers earned more than $2 million in the name of Elon Musk.

Back in July 2020, users in a class-action suit demanded YouTube compensate them millions of dollars lost to fake giveaways. They accused the video-hosting platform of inaction and even promoting fraudulent material. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak joined the suit.

During live streams, scammers impersonating Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Dell urged users to send them bitcoins in exchange for a “doubled amount”.

Earlier, Ripple filed a similar suit against YouTube. The reason was fraudulent XRP giveaways, including on behalf of CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

In response, the video-hosting company’s lawyers said YouTube bears no responsibility for materials posted by third parties.

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