Cryptocurrency, romance scams top BBB’s riskiest scams list

HOUSTON, Texas – Are you concerned about falling victim to a scam this year?

A new report from the Better Business Bureau highlights the top four scams that people encountered most frequently last year. Investment scams involving cryptocurrency remained the riskiest type of scam.

Meanwhile, romance and friendship scams climbed to the third spot for the first time since the BBB began publishing its report.

The BBB explained that these two scams top the list because financial grooming often develops over weeks and months. Scammers build trust with their targets and then encourage them to invest in cryptocurrency. Initially, investments are small, but as trust grows, the scammer persuades the victim to invest more. Unfortunately, victims often realize too late that the platform is fake and their money is irretrievable.

According to the BBB, more than 80% of individuals targeted by investment and cryptocurrency scams, the riskiest category, reported losing money to the BBB Scam Tracker. These scams also had the second-highest median dollar loss at $5,000. Investment scams can take various forms, including pressure to purchase, trade, or store digital assets with fraudulent exchanges.

Employment scams ranked second, accounting for about 14% of all reported scams and resulting in a median dollar loss of $1,500. Romance and friendship scams, now the third riskiest, had the highest median dollar loss of all scam types at $6,099.

Online purchase scams dropped to the fourth spot this year. These scams made up 30.3% of submissions to the BBB Scam Tracker, with 87.5% of victims reporting financial losses.

“Scammers are spending more time building relationships with their targets, leading to significant losses,” said Melissa Lanning, executive director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, which produced the 2024 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report. “If someone you met online offers to help you invest your money, it’s a huge red flag and likely a scam.”