Odaily Planet Daily News With Bitcoin reaching an all-time high, FBI Baltimore field agent David Paniwozik has found that more and more criminals are trying to profit from cryptocurrency scams. “They want to get involved and try to make money, which seems like a quick and easy way,” SA Paniwozik said. A major problem is that investors are still unfamiliar with the technology, making them more susceptible to scams. SA Paniwozik warned, “Whether you want to transfer $1, hundreds of millions, or billions of dollars, there is no limit. You can seamlessly transfer it from a wallet controlled in the U.S. to a wallet controlled overseas in just a few seconds. Scammers have set up their own cryptocurrency exchanges, convincing you that your investments are growing exponentially, or they say you have to pay cryptocurrency to 'unlock' jobs that offer high returns.” SA Paniwozik has recently noticed a surge in reports of employment scams involving cryptocurrency. Losses reported in Maryland rose from $32,033 in 2023 to $3.8 million from January to October this year. “So, in Maryland alone, the average person has lost about $15,000 to $20,000 due to these scams,” SA Paniwozik added. According to the FBI's 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, complaints related to cryptocurrency account for only about 10% of total financial fraud complaints, but the amount stolen accounts for nearly 50% of total losses. (Scripps News)