According to a report from the FBI, California lost a staggering $1.2 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2023 — the most out of any state in the nation — followed by Texas and Florida.

It’s no secret that California is one of the richest regions in America.

As of March 2024, it had the most billionaires in the nation, and as of 2020, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara region had the highest number of millionaire households out of all U.S. metros. But, as it turns out, scammers are also taking advantage of this free-flowing wealth.

According to a report released this month by the FBI, California lost a staggering $1.1 billion to cryptocurrency scams last year — the most of any state in the nation — followed by Texas and Florida. The report highlighted investment scams, and victims’ “fear of missing out” on the cryptocurrency phenomenon. Like the name implies, investment scams ultimately convince people to transfer funds into fraudulent websites with the promise that they’ll make more money. Scammers will often describe themselves as “investment managers” or act like they’re romantically interested in the victim; sometimes, they’ll even impersonate celebrities.

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