SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 16 ― The Tinder Swindler had better watch out ― competition is definitely fierce. According to a report, more than US$130 million (RM544 million) paid in cryptocurrency was stolen from victims of romance scams in 2021 in the United States. A significant phenomenon on social networks.

Love can be lucrative, especially for scammers. According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2021, of the millions of dollars stolen via romance scams in the United States, US$139 million was paid in cryptocurrency. These losses are almost five times greater than in 2020 and more than 25 times greater than in 2019. The amounts involved in cryptocurrency romance scams are also the most impressive. The median individual loss in this particular niche is US$9,770, compared to US$2,400 across the scams as a whole.

However, cryptocurrency money transfer scams aren't the most widely used method by online romance scammers. According to the study, gift cards are the most-used means in these digital scams. One in four people said they had given money in gift card form to a scammer in a long-distance relationship, with losses totalling US$36 million for 2021.

Over the past five years, romance scams have raked in US$1.3 billion, becoming the most lucrative category of fraud, according to the FTC. In 2021, $547 million was lost by victims ― an increase of almost 80 per cent from 2020.

More than a third of those who said they had been scammed after an online romance confirmed that it all started on Facebook or Instagram.

While all ages are affected, the number of scams affecting 18-29 year olds increased tenfold between 2017 and 2021. Yet, those aged 70 and older lost greater sums, reporting individual median losses of US$9,000, compared to US$750 for 18-29 year olds. ― ETX Studio