The popularity of cryptocurrencies has widely increased, and so did the crime related to crypto. The Crypto Head, a cryptocurrency news aggregator, has come up with interesting insights into cybersecurity in recent years.
In the UK, the highest reports of crypto crime were recorded in 2021 with a total of 9,458 cases. Compared to the previous years, in 2016 there were only 704 such crimes reported. However, in 2020 the number ran up to 8,801, a significant increase of 1,150%. Within 6 years, reports of crypto crime have climbed up to 34,305.
When it comes to age correlation, the most common victims were young people aged 18-25, followed by the age group 31-35, accounting for 11,48% of the 2021 victims. There were 30,9% more male victims than female ones.
When looking at crypto crime in Australia, reported crime had reached a total of 23,576 cases by 2020. In fact, in 2021 the crime had decreased 12% from 2020. Between 2016-2021, there were 110,990 reported crypto crimes with year-on-year increases.
All these crimes were only reported to the agencies, but in reality, the number of these cases could be higher. Crypto crime is still a relatively new type of crime and there could be many people who are helpless in seeking advice.