The Wall Street Journal ran an article on December 5, 2024, that was titled as follows, "Who Are the Victims of Cyberfraud?"
The information provided in answer to that question was made available to readers through a "Quiz." In other words, The Journal challenged its readers to guess the right answer to the questions it posed about cyber fraud. It then provided the correct answers. Presumably, The Journal hoped that its readers would pay more attention to the information provided about cyber fraud because readers would have created a personal stake in knowing what was true, and what wasn't - in finding out whether their "guesses" were correct, or not.
I think there are a few people who read my blog postings on a fairly regular basis. If you happen to be such a person, you will be well aware of my views about "cryptocurrency." Just click here for a past posting that amalgamates a number of my critical commentaries. There are more such postings, but this will give you the idea. I think "cryptocurrency" is, by its very nature, "fraudulent," since it presents itself as an "investment," or as a "store of value," while it is really a "bet," a totally speculative expenditure made in the hopes that future buyers will want to pay more than the current "investor" did.
I am not, by the way, surprised that our president has been personally engaged in both accepting campaign contributions made with crypto, and in offering this own, proprietary crypto options to "investors." I am also not surprised that the president has selected appointees to key government positions based on their support for crypto. This is just one more reason for American citizens, and particularly the Congress, to keep a vigilant watch over possible Trump-connected cyber fraud.
But... let's look at that Wall Street Journal "Quiz," to see what it has to tell us:
QUESTIONS:
Question #3
Persons 60 and older made 16,806 complaints with a cryptocurrency nexus and accounted for $1.7 billion in losses, according to the FBI's 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report. The next-largest category was 30- to 39-year olds, who made 10,849 complaints with losses of $694 million. Losses across all age groups totaled $5.6 billion.
Question #4
Cryptocurrency accounted for 34% of the reportred losses attributed to romance scams, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Bank wire transfer or payment was second-highest, with 27% of losses.
I am an "old guy," definitely over 60, but I am abiding by the advice I provided in my earlier blog posting, as mentioned above. I won't "bite" on cryptocurrency offers - and maybe particularly not if the president is personally involved.
Here's hoping that you won't, either!
Image Credits:
(1), (2), and (3) - https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/cyberfraud-take-our-quiz-91bfd910
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