The Victim Experience: When Romance Leads to a Crypto Scam

The number of highly sophisticated crypto scams is growing, with Americans losing an estimated $5.6 billion to crypto-related scams in 2023, according to the FBI, a 45 percent jump from the previous year. And often crypto fraud is tied in with romance scams, with criminals targeting victims through texts, dating sites, social media, networking channels or other apps. While we all like to think we would be immune to such scams, research has shown time and again that everyone is vulnerable, even the most highly educated among us.

In this episode, we hear the firsthand accounts of Jules and Brian, two victims of romance crypto scams, who recently spoke at a FINRA Foundation conference on disrupting the cycle of financial fraud. They sat down with Kim Casci-Palangio, program manager of the Cybercrime Support Network (CSN), to share their experiences, the financial, mental and emotional toll they took, and their efforts to recover from their loss. This audio was edited to remove personally identifying information about our victims.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Cybercrime Support Network

Romance Scam Recovery Group

FINRA Foundation

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

Non-Traditional Costs of Financial Fraud

Investor Alert: Relationship Investment Scams

‘Pig Butchering’ Scams: What They Are and How to Avoid Them

Crypto Investment Scams Infographic

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