Investment Scams Cost Americans $3.8 Million in 2022

In other cybersecurity news …

Over the past few years, investment scams have become increasingly sophisticated and widespread, taking advantage of the rise of digital technologies. According to data analyzed by the Atlas VPN team, Americans were scammed out of $3.8 billion last year through fraudulent investment opportunities.

Compared to 2021, the amount of losses has grown by 116%. Many of these scams use social media platforms, websites, apps and other channels to reach potential victims.

In the last four years, investment scams in the United States have grown by nearly 4,000%. In 2018, fraudsters stole $94.5 million using investment scams, and nearly 8,400 (57% of all) fraud reports indicated a loss. By 2022, the number of reports had increased significantly, with almost 77,600 reports (74% of all) revealing a loss of money in investment scams.

Furthermore, scammers have been getting away with more and more money, according to Atlas VPN. In 2018, the median loss from investment scams was $2,262. Since then, it steadily grew from year to year, reaching $21,727 in 2022.

Fueling the surge are increasing internet and social media use, which helped scammers find new ways to reach potential victims. Additionally, the rise of interest in crypto made people think they could get rich quickly by investing in it during economically unstable times.

Vilius Kardelis is cybersecurity writer at Atlas VPN.

“Overall, investment scams have grown significantly due to various factors, including technological advancements, economic instability and the increased sophistication of scammers,” he said. “Individuals need to be aware of these risks and take steps to protect themselves from such scams.”

Most commonly, scammers contact Americans through social media when offering investment opportunities. People reported more than 27,600 attempts of fraud through social media. By far, the most common payment method in such scams was cryptocurrency. People lost over $880 million worth of crypto through nearly 30,200 reported investment fraud cases.

Nevada was the most common target of scammers. Nevadans reported almost 317 investment-related scams per million people. Californians were second with nearly 273 reports per million.