Kaspersky: 30% of crypto owners have experienced crypto theft

• Kaspersky survey reveals 30%, or 1 in 3 crypto owners in the US have been victims of crypto theft/
• On average, crypto owners have lost $97,583.
• Only 34% of crypto owners use multi-factor authentication and only 15% use offline or cold wallets.

About a third of cryptocurrency owners have lost their assets to scammers and hackers, a new survey report by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has suggested.

The statistic is from a survey carried out in October 2022, involving 2,000 American adults. In February this year, a survey by Coinbase indicated there were about 66 million crypto owners in the US.

1 in 3 people have lost an average of $97,583

Per the survey results Kaspersky highlighted on 22 March 2023 in its “Crypto Threats 2023” report, 24% of respondents said the owned cryptocurrencies or other digital assets. Of this number, the researchers found that one in every three people who said they owned crypto had been victims of fraud, scams, phishing attacks, and cryptojacking among others.

The findings suggest that crypto owners have lost an average of $97,583, with 27% of victims saying they lost their crypto funds to fraudulent crypto-related sites and app.

Kaspersky also found that 19% of crypto owners lose money due to identity theft, while 27% had money stolen directly from their bank accounts.

“From fake apps to cryptojacking, there is a long list of threats lurking online to target cryptocurrencies,” Marc Rivero, a senior security researcher at Kaspersky noted in a statement.

Users can do a lot to protect themselves

Users within the crypto industry have experienced huge losses due to hacks, fraudulent platforms and other attacks, with this likely to continue given a 10-year trend of hacks across the industry. 

But according to Kaspersky researchers, there’s a lot individuals can do to protect their wallets.

For instance, some respondents reported that the average timespan in between checks on their investments was six weeks. Nearly a third said they stored their assets on centralised crypto exchanges, employing no extra security measures.

Only 34% said they used multi-factor authentication while only 15% kept their cryptocurrencies in “cold wallet” or offline wallets.