Cryptocurrency has captured the attention of those looking to make money quick and scammers have taken note.
Cryptocurrency scams jumped from the seventh riskiest scam in 2020 to second riskiest in 2021, according to the 2021 Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker Risk Report. More than 66% of people who reported falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam also reported losing money.
In Michigan, 31 scams have been reported to the BBB Scam Tracker from Jan. 2020 to March 2022.
Cryptocurrency can only be exchanged digitally and is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it.
The elusiveness of cryptocurrency seems to give the scammers an advantage. Based on reports sent to the BBB Scam Report, Michiganders were swept up into giving more money for fraudulent taxes, maintenance fees and, in at least one instance, blackmail.
“He seems so honest but he is a fraud. He had me send him crypto for hi[m] to put into this bull crypto trades account. Once in there they make it look like it is making money,” wrote one scam victim in Bay County.
In several cases scam victims were seeking crypto investments but landed on nefarious websites or social media accounts through Tik Tok, What’s App and Telegram. Many fell into a get rich quick scheme where scammers promised payouts that never came or required more investment from the victim.
One victim from Washtenaw County was targeted by a scammer saying they had obtained Zoom footage taken…
