Cryptocurrency-centered scams are especially harmful compared to other Internet crimes, with victims losing about five times more money.
This is one of the findings of a recent study from cybersecurity company SurfShark. Using open-source information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Surfshark found that victims of non-crypto related internet crimes lost an average of $16,000 — certainly nothing to sneeze at, but still materially smaller than the average $86,000 victims lost to cryptocurrency-related scams.
“This disparity may be due to the irreversible nature of crypto transactions,” said Surfshark.
Bolstering this finding was another data point: While only 6% of U.S. internet crime victims paid scammers in cryptocurrency, the substantial financial impact of these scams meant they represented 24% of all cybercrime-related financial losses last year.
In 2022, over $2.3 billion worth of crypto was lost to internet crimes in the U.S.
Broken down by geography, the study found that South Dakota victims experienced the most severe impact, suffering average losses of $998,000 per victim, over 10 times higher than the national average. Following closely behind are New Hampshire with $147,000 per victim, Georgia with $138,000 per victim, Delaware with $121,000 per victim, and California with $117,000 per victim.
The least affected states were Mississippi ($14,884 per victim), Alaska ($20,305 per victim) and Arkansas ($27,670).
“Criminals prefer cryptocurrencies not only because of their relative anonymity,” explained Aleksandr Valentij, chief information security officer at Surfshark, “If the victim realizes they’ve been scammed, crypto transfers cannot be reversed like bank transfers, and the money is lost forever, especially if it goes through a cryptocurrency tumbler or is “washed” in any other way. This is particularly convenient for scammers, and combined with the inflated interest in crypto we have at the moment, it creates a perfect environment for crypto scams.”
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