US lawmakers call on Mark Zuckerberg to address 'breeding ground' of crypto fraud

A Federal Trade Commission report published in June identified Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among the top platforms for social media-driven crypto fraud.

A group of Democrats from the United States Senate reportedly asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to provide details about the social media giant's policies towards cryptocurrency fraud. Senators Robert Menendez, Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, Dianne Feinstein, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker called on Zuckerberg for steps the company could take to detect crypto scams, coordinate with law enforcement and help victims of fraud, the Washington Post reported Friday. Meta currently controls Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. "Based on recent reports of scams on other social media platforms and apps, we are concerned that Meta is providing a breeding ground for cryptocurrency scams that cause significant harm to consumers," the group of senators said. https://twitter.com/viaCristiano/status/1568235755893293056 The lawmakers cited a June Federal Trade Commission report that characterized social media and crypto as a "combustible combination for fraud." The commission reported that roughly half of the $1 billion worth of crypto-related fraud in 2021 - the majority of which was focused on investments - originated on social media platforms: "Nearly four out of every ten dollars reported lost to a social media-related scam was lost in crypto, far more than in any other payment method. The top platforms identified in these reports were Instagram (32%), Facebook (26%), WhatsApp (9%) and Telegram (7%)." The Democratic senators also urged Meta to warn of potential scams in languages other than English. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone reportedly said the social media firm spends "significant resources to detect and prevent scams." The lawmakers demanded that Zuckerberg respond with detailed information by October 24. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation similarly targeted crypto scams in a July memo, warning the public about apps that use the same logos and identifying information as legitimate companies to commit fraud. Many innocent users have also fallen victim to scams through hacked accounts on Twitter and YouTube, copycat websites and fake crypto projects and airdrops. Follow Global Economic Developments on Social Media! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Facebook account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Instagram account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Twitter account!