Share this article
Massachusetts Warns of Crypto Scams Targeting LGBTQIA+ Community
Scammers may be taking advantage of June being Pride Month to target this community.
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:17 p.m. Published Jun 28, 2022, 8:19 a.m.
The government of Massachusetts has warned of the prevalence of cryptocurrency scams targeting the LGBTQIA+ community on social media, dating apps and elsewhere.
- Scammers may be taking advantage of June being Pride Month to target this community, the Massachusetts Government said on Monday, citing a prior warning from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- "Fraudsters may contact their victim impersonating a friend, partner or family member asking for funds due to an emergency or debt," according to the warning. "Alternatively, scammers will develop new relationships with their target, usually with romantic intentions to then receive monetary gifts and steal personal information."
- A "red flag" for such a scam would be a request of payment in cryptocurrency, it added.
- Therefore, warning signs to look out for include social media friend requests from new profiles or ones with minimal prior activity and matches on dating apps that move quickly but refuse in-person connection.
- At the start of this month, the FTC produced analysis saying consumers had lost over $1 billion in crypto-linked fraud from January 2021 through to March this year. Romance scams was in the top three most prevalent types of fraud alongside bogus investment schemes and business/government impersonation frauds.
Read more: FBI Says LinkedIn Is Being Used for Crypto Scams: Report
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
VanEck's new Avalanche ETF filing to include staking rewards for AVAX investors
The fund will use Coinbase Crypto Services as its initial staking provider and pay a 4% service fee, with rewards accruing to the fund and reflected in its net asset value.
What to know:
- VanEck has updated its filing for an Avalanche ETF, VAVX, to include staking rewards, aiming to generate income for investors by staking up to 70% of its AVAX holdings.
- The fund will use Coinbase Crypto Services as its initial staking provider and pay a 4% service fee, with rewards accruing to the fund and reflected in its net asset value.
- If approved, the fund will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker VAVX, tracking AVAX's price via a custom index, and will be custodied with regulated providers, including Anchorage Digital and Coinbase Custody.
Top Stories
