FILE - An advertisement of Bitcoin, one of the cryptocurrencies, is displayed on a building in Hong Kong, on Nov. 18, 2021. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were collapsing in price Monday, June, 13, 2022 after the major crypto lender Celsius halted all withdrawals citing “extreme market conditions." It is the second collapse of a part of the crypto world in the last two months.
The latest reports to the BBB indicate that investment scams often take the form of long-term confidence scams. Fraudsters fabricate relationships with victims—either romantically or as investment mentors—to gain their trust. This approach has led to a significant increase in losses."Since the beginning of the year, we’ve received 32 investment scam reports from Washington, totaling over $1.9 million in losses. Most of these involve crypto," Nakashima said.
Watch out for "too-good-to-be-true" offers. If an investment opportunity promises you can't lose money or guarantees unusually high returns, those are red flags. "These crypto and investment scams usually start online on social media and dating apps. If someone you don’t know reaches out to you offering investment advice, you should block them and report them as a scam account," Nakashima said.