The Federal Trade Commission published a report in which it said that in 2021, scammers earned $547 million and 139 of them in cryptocurrency. Money was earned on "romantic" beggar accounts on dating sites and social networks. Compared to 2020, the total amount increased by $240 million.
The regulator explained that scammers create fake accounts in dating apps or on social platforms. Especially desperate ones pretend to be real friends of the victim. Before meeting, attackers carefully study a person’s profile, notice his hobbies and interests, and after meeting, they pay attention to the fact that they have a lot in common. The victim is rubbed into confidence, make friends or even romantic relationships, but in every possible way refuse a personal meeting.
After the scammers get close enough to the victim, they start asking for gifts, but more often they report a fictitious illness of a loved one or ask for a ticket to the victim’s city in order to finally meet in person. Sometimes they talk about their investment experience and offer to entrust funds to them and after a while get back several times more.
An analysis by the Federal Trade Commission found that over the past year, scammers have begun to use more romantic overtones. Victims were searched in dating services, and then all communication was transferred to a convenient messenger. Deceived users said that they were asked to send funds to cryptocurrency wallets or replenish bank gift cards with the ability to withdraw money.
Users from 18 to 29 years old were at risk, they account for most of these fraud schemes. On average, these users sent the attackers $750 each. Among users aged 70 years and older, there are noticeably fewer cases, but they sent 9 thousand dollars to scammers on average. In total, in 2021, with the help of “romantic” beggar accounts, cybercriminals collected $547 million, of which $139 million was in cryptocurrency.
The Federal Trade Commission has prepared tips to help users avoid falling into the trap:
remember that no one in their right mind would ask to send money to a cryptocurrency account or a gift card. This is usually done by scammers who want to hide the traces of a crime;
do not send money to those whom you do not know in real life, do not listen to their investment advice and first make sure that the person you are talking to is sitting on the other side of the screen;
f you have an affair on the Web, then tell your family or friends about it, if they express their concerns, then heed their advice;
try to search by the avatar of the interlocutor. Fraudsters usually do not use their real photos, and in this case, the search engine will show from which photo stock the image was taken or whose identity the attackers are hiding behind.
bbabo.Net