Study: Over 34,300 crypto crimes reported in the UK since 2016

Due to the fact that more and more people want to get in on the cryptocurrency wave, criminal activity and fraud involving cryptocurrencies have continued to expand at an exponential rate in recent years. 

Since 2016, there have been 34,305 reports of criminal activity using cryptocurrency in the UK alone, representing an annual growth rate of an average of 100%, according to an in-depth investigation on crypto crime conducted by Crypto Head and shared with Finbold on July 14.

The study looked at crime data of cryptocurrency-related complaints obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests to see if the situation is becoming worse or better throughout the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

The number of complaints of crypto crimes rose again in 2021, reaching a grand total of 9,458. The year-on-year growth from 2020 to 2021 is going to be a lot lower than the increase that occurred from 2019 to 2020, despite the fact that this gain of 1,243% since 2016 seems to be shockingly high.

UK crime victims lose over £200 million in one year

Over the course of only one year, victims of crypto crime in the UK lost enormous quantities of money, adding up to more than £204 million ($241 million).

Nearly 12% of the 9,458 victims in 2021 were between the ages of 18 and 25, making this age range the one that was targeted the most. 

The biggest number of reports came in during the month of April, yet the most money was lost during the month of November. With approximately £23 million in losses claimed across 793 complaints, this amounts to an average loss of £28,998 per report. 

With 59.8% of crypto crime victims in the UK being male in 2021, the majority of victims of crypto crime in the UK are men. 

In contrast to the United Kingdom, crypto-related offenses in Australia have actually decreased by 12% over the course of the previous year.

Source