Bitcoin (BTC) ATM Scams and 'Pig Butchering' Cryptocurrency Cons on the Rise, Reports Show

The US Federal Trade Commission recently released its mid-year report covering up to June 2024. The agency alerted consumers of the chilling increase

Bitcoin (BTC) automated teller machine (ATM) scams have seen a chilling increase in 2024, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network tool of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis also found “pig butchering” to be the most lucrative scheme plaguing the cryptocurrency community.

Bitcoin ATM Scams Increasing Tenfold

The FTC’s data showed that losses due to Bitcoin ATM or BTM scams amounted to around $66 million. This represented a tenfold increase in funds stolen using these scams from 2020 to 2023.

Based on the FTC’s data, there were $12 million worth of BTM scams in 2020. The figures gradually rose to $33 million in 2021 and $78 million in 2022. The historical chart has peaked at $114 million in 2023.

Despite the report ending only in the first half (H1) of 2024, the latest numbers were already 57.89% of the losses logged in the entirety of 2023 and 84.62% in the full year of 2022. It also significantly dwarfed in comparison the combined figures of 2020 and 2021.

The FTC pointed out that the use of cryptocurrencies for fraudulent transactions has grown over the past few years. This went alongside the surge of payments utilizing these digital assets for the settlement of fake investment opportunities, fake collection warnings from business or government official impersonators, and tech support scams.

Within the report’s timeframe, the agency reported a median loss of $10,000 for the victims. However, it noted that the actual numbers may be higher because of the fact that a majority of fraud cases are not reported. People aged 60 and over have three times more tendency to report losses stemming from these dubious transactions than younger demographics.

Pig Butchering Scams Generate Highest Revenue In H1 2024

On the other hand, Chainalysis also released its own H1 2024 Cryptocurrency Scams and Anti-Money Laundering Trends report. In it, the firm stated that pig butchering cases, which are usually in the form of romance scams, are the largest revenue-generating scam year-to-date.

As its name implies, a pig butchering scam involves bad actors “fattening up” their victims by gaining their trust to extract the most possible value. The most effective technique employed here is building a romantic relationship with the prey. It’s generally done through messaging or dating apps to gain their confidence.

So far, pig butchering scams have already surpassed other fraudulent techniques in magnitude. They have now become the preferred method of deceiving people over Ponzi schemes due to their more targeted approach to potential victims.

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