CHENNAI: Over 46,000 people reported losing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams since the start of 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a recent report.

Nearly half the people who reported losing digital currencies in a scam said it started with an ad, post or a message on a social media platform, as per the FTC. The craze for cryptocurrencies was at a fever pitch last year with bitcoin hitting a record high of $69,000 in November. About $575 million of all losses related to digital currency frauds were about “bogus investment opportunities”.