BALTIMORE — The FBI is warning about the growing number of crypto scams costing hundreds of Maryland residents millions of dollars.
According to the Bureau, 482 people in Maryland reported losing a combined $54.5 million to crypto fraud during the first eight months of 2024.
With over three months to go in the year, we could very well surpass 2023 trends which saw 668 Marylanders duped out of $69.1 million.
“Bottom line: never trust someone you haven’t met who claims to be an expert and can help you make money through a can’t-miss investment opportunity,” says FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno. “We are seeing victims in their 20s and 30s all the way up to our senior citizens who are absolutely devastated by these schemes.”
Here are some FBI tips to avoid being a victim.
• Do not invest per the advice of someone you meet solely online.
• Verify the validity of any investment opportunity from strangers or long-lost contacts on social media websites.
• Lookout for domain names impersonating legitimate financial institutions, especially cryptocurrency exchanges
• Misspelled URLs, often with a slight deviation from the actual financial institutions' website, may be fake.
• Do not download or use suspicious looking apps as an investing tool unless you can verify its legitimacy
• If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Be cautious of get rich quick schemes.
• Confirm the validity of any investment opportunity or cryptocurrency investment website or app.
• If you already invested funds and believe you're being schemed, don't pay more fees to withdraw your money.
• Do not pay for services claiming to be able to recover lost funds.
• If an unknown individual contacts you, don't send money, or release financial or personal identifying information.
If you or someone you know may be a victim of a cryptocurrency investment scam, immediately submit a report to ic3.gov, with as much transaction information as possible including amount paid, dates, times, and addresses.
