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There were 287 victims of investment fraud in Connecticut in 2023 who lost a total of $30.5 million, according to a recent analysis by Carlson Law, a Florida-based law firm that represents investors in high-stakes financial disputes.
Americans are increasingly being lured into cryptocurrency scams, often involving AI-generated videos that use impersonations of celebrity business leaders such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to hawk fake investment advice.
The FBI says investment fraud is the No. 1 costliest type of fraud in the United States. In 2023, more than 85% of the money lost to investment fraud involved cryptocurrency schemes.
Scammers also use dating apps to trick supposed love interests into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes – a practice known as “pig butchering,” an analogy for gaining a victim’s trust by “fattening them up” before stealing their money.
Other types of investment fraud include advance-fee scams, Ponzi or pyramid schemes, market manipulation and real estate investing scams.
In Connecticut, there was a 44% increase in the total amount of money lost from investment scams between 2022 and 2023, according to Carlson Law’s analysis. The average loss per victim was $106,398.
The analysis used data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Nationally, a record $4.57 billion was lost to investment fraud in 2023, up from $3.3 billion in 2022, the analysis found.
“Elder millennials,” people between the ages of 40 and 49, were the most likely age demographic to be scammed, with a rate of 16.2 victims per 100,000 people.
Millennials, ages 30 to 39, were slightly less likely to be victims, with a rate of 14.6 per 100,000.
The investment scam rate for Generation X (ages 50 to 59) was 13.5 per 100,000. For Baby Boomers (60+), it was 8.1 per 100,000.
Tech-savvy Generation Z, which includes young people ages 20 to 29, had a lower rate of 7.6 per 100,000.
Connecticut’s 2023 investment scam rate was 7.9 victims per 100,000, ranking No. 21. The Nutmeg State’s average loss per victim was just over $100,000, which ranked No. 33 nationally.
California, whose residents collectively lost nearly $1 billion to investment scams in 2023, was ranked the worst state.
The states with the greatest increases in investment scams between 2022 and 2023 were: North Dakota, New Mexico, Montana, Vermont and South Carolina.
Maine had the lowest rate of investment fraud, with just 3.5 victims per 100,000.
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The Hartford Business Journal 2025 Charity Event Guide is the annual resource publication highlighting the top charity events in 2025.
Hartford Business Journal provides the top coverage of news, trends, data, politics and personalities of the area’s business community. Get the news and information you need from the award-winning writers at HBJ. Don’t miss out - subscribe today.
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