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Experts tell Senate panel crypto-enabled scams cost older Americans billions
Summary
Researchers told a Senate committee that cryptocurrency-enabled scams — including 'pig butchering' romance scams and crypto ATM schemes — are a major vector for losses by older Americans, and called for improved AML/KYC compliance and better public education.
At a Senate Children and Youth Committee briefing, experts from Inca Digital described how cryptocurrency fraud and romance "pig butchering" scams are extracting large sums from older Americans and other victims.
Anita Nikolic said FBI figures she reviewed indicate Americans over 65 lost about $3 billion to scams in 2022 and that roughly $1.2 billion of that figure involved cryptocurrency-related scams. "Over 65 lost $3,000,000,000 in scams. Almost 1.2 of that billion ... was lost via cryptocurrency," she said. Nikolic highlighted crypto ATMs as an accessible vector: older people can convert cash to crypto without technical sophistication and send it to scam wallets.
Adam Zarasinski recounted a case study in which a Troy, Michigan public-school teacher used a dating app, was coaxed into investing small amounts, saw fabricated gains on a fake site and ultimately transferred roughly $500,000 to scam wallets after moving funds through a domestic exchange. "She invested all of her inheritance and... it was about $500,000," Zarasinski said. He described the scammers' internal training manuals for identifying and
