Scammers stole $5.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2023, a 45% increase from 2022.
Transcript:
Conway Gittens: Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
The action was upbeat on Wall Street amid speculation a bigger-than-expected interest rate cut could be in the cards. Fed experts now say it’s a toss up whether the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates by a quarter-percentage point or a half-percentage point. Investors will find out soon enough – as the Fed meets in the coming week.
Also on the schedule: quarterly results from economic bellwether FedEx.
Turning to other news: Scammers stole $5.6 billion in crypto money in 2023, according to the FBI. That’s a 45 percent increase from 2022.
While the number of crypto scams are relatively small – just 10 percent of all financial fraud complaints made to the FBI, they account for roughly half of all the actual money stolen.
Victims are tricked by many different schemes but the biggest is investment fraud, usually concocted through emails, text messages, and direct messages on social media. In 2023, investors were swindled that way out of $4 billion. According to the FBI’s 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, “Over the years, cryptocurrency’s widespread promotion as an investment vehicle, combined with a mindset associated with the ‘fear of missing out,’ has led to opportunities for criminals to target consumers and retail investors.”
And the crypto hoaxes aren’t dying down. A report from Blockchain Researcher TRM Labs said thieves walked away with over $1.38 billion in bitcoin, ether, and other crypto assets in the first half of 2024. That’s double the crypto stolen in the same period in 2023.
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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