FORT MYERS, Fla.– Scammers are tapping into cryptocurrency.
A report from the FTC shows more than $80 million has been lost in crypto-related scams since October of last year.
Now, Florida’s attorney general is warning about crypto-scam luring victims on social media. It’s called a bait-and-switch scam, so far the state says it’s received nearly 100 complaints about it.
Cryptocurrency is a risky investment that can be rewarding.
“People have become billionaires overnight. I keep hoping I’m going to wake up and I’m one of those billionaires but we’re not quite there yet,” said Brian Roland, a local resident who participates in the digital currency market.
Digital currency is difficult to counterfeit, which is part of the reason people decide to invest.
But as technology advances, so do scammers. “There’s a ton of misinformation out there and I think that’s why a lot of these scams are happening,” said Roland.
Here’s how the scam works:
- The scammer sends you a message on social media pretending to be someone you know when in reality it’s not.
- The scammer then tries to sell you on this currency by showing legitimate data that matches the current market.
The problem happens when the scammer asks you to move the money to another platform.
“It’s basically like a handshake that you’re confident where it’s going, the problem with digital currency is that when you move it from one address to the other address it’s gone,” said Eugene Hoyt a Cyber Security Expert for FGCU.
Hoyt says before you buy or move any cryptocurrency you have to do your research because “it’s no different than buying a bond or stock.”
The US Securities and Exchange Commission created an ‘Investor Alert Guide’ to help protect you against social media and investing fraud.