Mitrade Insights is dedicated to providing investors with rich, timely and most valuable financial information to help investors grasp the market situation and find timely trading opportunities.

2021

Best News & Analysis Provider

FxDailyInfo

2022

Best Forex Educational Resources Global

International Business Magazine

Insights

News

Cryptocurrencies

SEC issues urgent warning to investors amid rising romance scams

Source Cryptopolitan

Federal officials have warned that investors are facing high risks of crypto scams linked to fake relationships on social media, dating apps, and networking sites. US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Gurbir S. Grewal suggests these “relationship investment scams” are on the rise and can be catastrophic for retail investors.

Scammers are sliding into DMs, posing as romantic interests or old friends, and then luring users into the world of crypto investments. Eventually, they pitch a fake crypto investment which can lead a user to high financial losses.

Crypto love scams are on the rise

As per the SEC’s release, the commission is encouraging investors to choose where they are getting information from and rectify their sources during World Investor Week (WIW) 2024. The initiative is running from October 7-13. It advises that even if investors are looking for an investment professional or deciding which investments help them meet their financial goals, it becomes crucial to access the information from trusted sources.

The FBI received nearly 70,000 complaints about financial fraud involving cryptos in 2023. Investment fraud accounted for $3.96 billion of the investor losses. Scammers slide into DMs on dating apps or social media, building trust over weeks or even months! It’s like a bad rom-com plot but with your money at stake.

This year marks the eighth anniversary of WIW which brings together regulators on six continents to raise awareness regarding investor protection. The SEC is teaming up with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, FINRA, and more to drop some serious knowledge trails.

US SEC chair Gary Gensler stated, “Investor protection is at the very core of the SEC’s three-part mission.” Throughout the week, SEC staff will host outreach events focused on the basics of saving and investing.

$5.6B crypto related scam reported in 2023

Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Lori Schock, mentioned the hype around emerging technologies like AI, finfluencers, social media, and aggressive investing marketers. These factors can make it hard for an investor to choose the correct support.

According to the FBI, the use of digital currencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has surged among criminals. Just in 2023, consumers lost around $5.6 billion to crypto-related scams and it has been an alarming 45% jump from 2022. Investment scams accounted for about 71% of these losses. However, relationship scams emerged as the most prominent form of fraud last year.

Reportedly criminals are increasingly using crypto for fraud due to its decentralized nature, fast irreversible transactions, and global transfer capabilities. AI integration is likely to complicate the detection of romance scams tied to crypto.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Recommended Articles

Bitcoin falls below $75,000 as the CLARITY Act fails in the Senate — what the vote means for crypto The US Senate blocked the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act in a 49-50 procedural vote, sending Bitcoin briefly below $75,000 — its biggest one-day drop since June. Ethereum fell more than 8%, Coinbase slid 10% and $75 billion of crypto market value evaporated. Here is what the vote was, why it failed, and the levels that matter now.

Author Suzie

Sep 16, Wed

The US Senate blocked the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act in a 49-50 procedural vote, sending Bitcoin briefly below $75,000 — its biggest one-day drop since June. Ethereum fell more than 8%, Coinbase slid 10% and $75 billion of crypto market value evaporated. Here is what the vote was, why it failed, and the levels that matter now.

Dollar index tops 100 for the first time since July as the Fed's hawkish dot plot sinks in The U.S. dollar index broke back above 100 for the first time since 31 July after the Fed delivered its first rate hike since 2023, with the dot plot showing 16 of 18 officials expect at least one more increase this year. Here are the levels that matter for DXY, the currencies feeling it most, and what to watch next.

Author Irene Q.

Sep 17, Thu

The U.S. dollar index broke back above 100 for the first time since 31 July after the Fed delivered its first rate hike since 2023, with the dot plot showing 16 of 18 officials expect at least one more increase this year. Here are the levels that matter for DXY, the currencies feeling it most, and what to watch next.

Gold ends three-week slide at the $4,400 line — eight straight days of ETF inflows vs a 5% 10-year and a 100 dollar Spot gold closed Friday at $4,378.39, up 0.84% on the day and about 0.8% for the week — its first weekly gain in four weeks — with the intraday high of $4,399.67 leaving it 33 cents shy of the $4,400 line. Gold ETFs have now logged eight straight sessions of inflows, but with the 10-year back above 5% and the dollar index near 100, here is what decides whether this is a reversal or a bounce.

Author Suzie

Sep 20, Sun

Spot gold closed Friday at $4,378.39, up 0.84% on the day and about 0.8% for the week — its first weekly gain in four weeks — with the intraday high of $4,399.67 leaving it 33 cents shy of the $4,400 line. Gold ETFs have now logged eight straight sessions of inflows, but with the 10-year back above 5% and the dollar index near 100, here is what decides whether this is a reversal or a bounce.

Bitcoin rallies near $86K on improving markets ahead of quarterly options expiry Bitcoin (BTC) market conditions improved over the past week as spot buying pressure strengthened and derivatives positioning increased, pushing the top crypto near $86,000.

Author FXStreet

Yesterday 01: 16

Bitcoin (BTC) market conditions improved over the past week as spot buying pressure strengthened and derivatives positioning increased, pushing the top crypto near $86,000.

Dollar holds above 100 near a 3-month high — three Fed speakers and a $69 billion auction land tonight The dollar index closed at 100.43 on Monday, its highest close since late July, after a weekly gain of about 1% — the best in more than three months — and is holding above the 100.00 handle in Asia. Three Fed officials speak tonight alongside a $69 billion two-year note auction, the first leg of $183 billion of Treasury supply this week.

Author Suzie

Yesterday 06: 34

The dollar index closed at 100.43 on Monday, its highest close since late July, after a weekly gain of about 1% — the best in more than three months — and is holding above the 100.00 handle in Asia. Three Fed officials speak tonight alongside a $69 billion two-year note auction, the first leg of $183 billion of Treasury supply this week.

Popular Symbols