According to FBI reports, Missourians lost $55 million to cryptocurrency scams in 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (WGEM) – An annual FBI report on cryptocurrency fraud found that 2023 was the busiest year yet for the growing technology.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported a total of $5.6 billion in losses in 2023 from just over 69,000 complaints.

The same report showed that Missouri alone lost $55,022,745 in 838 reported scams.

The most common victims of the scams were those over 60, followed in second place by the next younger population group aged 50 to 59.

Cryptocurrency fraud can take many different forms. The most common is investment fraud, followed by personal data breach, technical support fraud and trust fraud.

J. Scott Christianson, director of the University of Missouri’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said consumers should be immediately wary when payment requests arrive via phone calls if they are overly urgent or time-sensitive, and especially if they involve digital currencies.

“No reputable company, government agency or bank will require this,” Christianson said.

“Always hire a reputable provider. Something like a credit card or something like a bank, because that’s what we call Know Your Customer or KYC compliant, and they make sure that not only do they know who you are, but also who the other people are are .”

The FBI offers the following advice to consumers to help them avoid falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam.

• Criminals will try to convey a sense of urgency and isolation.
• If you receive an unsolicited call from an unknown caller claiming to work for a well-known company or government agency, hang up, independently research the company or agency’s publicly published phone number, and call them to verify the authenticity of the caller to confirm the original call.
• No legitimate law enforcement or government official will call to request payment through a cryptocurrency kiosk.
• Never provide personal information to third parties without verifying that the person is who they say they are.
• Check the validity of any investment opportunities offered by strangers or long-lost contacts on social media sites. If you have never met a person in real life, even on the phone or video chatting, you should be very careful when accepting investment advice or opportunities.
• Be on the lookout for domain or website names that impersonate legitimate financial institutions, especially cryptocurrency exchanges.
• Fraudulent companies often use website addresses that mimic real financial institutions, but are often slightly different, to convince people that the fraudulent website is legitimate.
• Do not download suspicious-looking apps or use them as an investment tool unless you can verify the app’s legitimacy.
• If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of get-rich-quick schemes.
• Investments involve risks. Individuals should invest based on their financial goals and financial resources and, when in doubt, seek the advice of a licensed financial advisor.

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