Crypto losses due to fraud in the U.K. up 30% to $200M

Losses due to crypto fraud in the United Kingdom are on the rise. In fact, total losses from January to October this year already surpassed losses for the entire year of 2020 by almost a third.

The City of London Police reported that total losses due to crypto fraud in the U.K. for the first ten months of 2021 already reached £146 million ($200 million), according to Coindesk. The figure is 30 percent higher than the total losses reported for the entire year of 2020.

According to Action Fraud, it received 7,118 reports of crypto fraud since the year started. U.K.’s national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime added that this translates to an average loss per fraud of over £20,500 or around $28,000.

With lockdowns causing people to spend more time online, the rising cases of crypto fraud is not unexpected. “Reports of cryptocurrency fraud have increased significantly over the past few years,” Detective Chief Inspector Craig Mullish said. “Being online more means criminals have a greater opportunity to approach unsuspecting victims with fraudulent investment opportunities.”

The reports also noted that more than half of crypto fraud victims are aged between 18 and 45. The trend is to be expected as various reports in the past have already pointed out that the younger investors account for the majority of those investing in cryptos.

One of the most common crypto frauds is through fake celebrity endorsements where scammers create fake advertisements using pictures of well-known personalities to make them appear legitimate and entice victims of their fraudulent schemes.

In fact, Action Fraud reported having received 558 reports of fake celebrity endorsements between April 2020 and March 2021. The center added that 79 percent of such fake endorsements involved crypto.

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