According to a study, the majority of social media crypto “romance scam victims” in 2022 were female. The bulk of these ladies were “aged 39 or below.”
Nearly two-thirds of these “romance scams” involved the use of cryptocurrency, counterfeit coins, fraudulent wire transfers, or fraudulent token trading platforms.
A graduate student from prestigious Korea University analysed information from recent police complaints to generate this statistics.
Instagram is often used by con artists for crypto scams
Dating applications like WIPPY (used by 14%) and Tinder (used by 7%) are also popular among con artists. According to the research, online con artists are currently stealing about half a million dollars every month in fiat and cryptocurrency. However, this number does not account for frauds that are not reported.
Information from 280 cases reported to law enforcement in the first half of 2022 was analysed for the study. However, the police in South Korea appear concerned about the rise of digital scams. As a result, they have created divisions dedicated to combating crypto scams and are providing cops with its specific training.
One common form of “romance scam” crypto fraud is “asking victims to help” convert cryptocurrency or fiat currency on fraudulent platforms. The young and predominantly female victims of other scammers are sometimes led to believe that they may get rich quickly by investing in these fraudulent altcoins.
Some con artists prey on the vulnerable by pretending they require emergency medical funding. Some people say they’re stranded somewhere in other lands and desperately need money.
According to a report from earlier this year by Uppsala Security, a developer of regulatory technology and security supplier, scammers in South Korea are attempting to utilise dating app users to trick them into joining fraudulent currency mining companies.
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