I Love You: Romance Scammers Collected over N57bn in Crypto Last Year
- In 2021, crypto thieves and fraudsters employed romance to steal over N57 billion in cryptocurrency
- They employ a number of methods, including informing their supposed loved ones that their money would be invested
- The amount taken in 2021 is nearly five times what was recorded in 2020, indicating that more people are becoming victims
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
A new report from the Federal Trade Commission has shown that romance fraudsters took a total of $139 million in cryptocurrencies last year, which is five times the amount in 2020.
According to the Verge report the total number of victims lost at an average $9,770 in crypto out of trust for the partners.
It also noted that Some scammers pretend to be “financial experts” who promise to invest their victims’ money.
Source: UGC
How the scammers made away from their victim's money
Federal Trade Commission report noted that romance fraudsters typically create fake social accounts using images from the internet and then deceive victims into paying them money.
PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG!
It further stated that the fraudsters may claim to be in need of money due to a financial problem, but even more intriguingly, some scammers pose as "financial gurus" and promise to invest their victims' money in cryptocurrency or the stock market.
Part of the report reads:
"Aside from cryptocurrency, gift cards were the most commonly used method of payment by romance scammers, with 28 percent of victims paying their "lover" with one, resulting in a total loss of $36 million.
"In addition, victims paid a total of $121 million in bank transfers and other forms of payment, with wire transfers accounting for $93 million."
However, the report cautioned people to be wary of red flags when there is a request that they sacrifice their hard-earned money.
One person shares experience
A Facebook user, Sean Croce took to social media to share his experience on how he was scammed.
According to him, his supposed friend claimed to work for an orphanage, and out of pity, he sent out money.
One of the comments replied that his church was also scammed of $50,000.
"Wow! One of these scammers used to be on my friends list. ( Frank Kasiita). He claimed that he was running an orphanage and I even sent him some money once a long time ago. I thought he was a Christian.
"Don't be so quick to send anyone money, I don't care how " Christian" they claim to be, or how sad their story is."
CBN Defends Clampdown on Cryptocurrency
Legit.ng has reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria has justified its ban on cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria, claiming that the industry and its participants are "embedded in illegality."
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, expressed his disapproval while speaking with Arise TV on Tuesday, 16 November 2021.
According to Emefiele, the directive to deposit banks to close the accounts of cryptocurrency dealers is to protect Nigerians and the banking space has no room for cryptocurrency.
Source: Legit.ng
