Crypto scam victims have lost more than $1 bn since 2021: US FTC report

More than 46,000 people reported losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since the start of 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a report on Friday.

Nearly half the people who reported losing digital currencies in a scam said it started with an ad, post or a message on a social media platform, according to the FTC. The craze for cryptocurrencies was at a fever pitch last year with bitcoin hitting a record high of $69,000 in November.

Reports point to social media and crypto as a combustible combination for fraud, the agency said, adding that about $575 million of