There has been a spike in South Korean crypto scams that target young women on social media platforms, a new study has revealed.
Per iNews24 and Hanguk Kyungjae, the study revealed that 71% of “romance scam victims” ensnared via social media in 2022 were women.
The vast majority of these women were “aged 39 or below.”
Almost 63% of these “romance scams” made use of crypto, fake coins, fake foreign exchange transfers, or bogus token trading platforms.
The data was compiled by a postgraduate student at the elite Korea University and used data from recent police reports.
Most scammers appear to make use of Instagram, the study showed.
Many scammers are also making use of dating apps like WIPPY (14%) and Tinder (7%).
The study found that social media-based scammers are currently making off with almost half a million USD worth of fiat and crypto a month.
But this figure does not take into account scams that go unreported.
Crypto Scams Target Young Korean Women – The Scammers’ Methods
The study examined data from 280 cases reported to police agencies in the first half of 2022.
But police appear concerned that crypto-related scams are on the rise in South Korea.
They have responded by forming special crypto scam-fighting departments and investing in crypto-specific training for officers.
Typical “romance scam” crypto fraud methods include “asking victims to help” exchange coins or fiat using bogus platforms.
Other fraudsters attempt to dupe young, predominately female victims by convincing them that they can earn easy money by investing in bogus altcoins.
Some attempt to fool victims by claiming they need money to pay for medical costs.
Others claim to be marooned overseas and in urgent need of funds.
Earlier this year, the regulation technology developer and security provider Uppsala Security claimed that South Korean scammers are now trying to lure the users of dating apps onto fake crypto mining platforms.
