What are Cryptocurrency Scams?
Crimes related to cryptocurrency are anywhere the crooks target individuals with these tokens/coins and try to steal them. Today, cryptocurrency scams are a trending topic mostly because of our mad rush for these digital assets over the last few years.
Cryptocurrency prices have risen to an all-time high, which has itself attracted all kinds of investors, and with it, all kinds of scammers. Scammers try to gain invaluable private information such as security codes or trick unsuspecting victims into sending coins to compromised wallets. In many cases, scammers might also offer ICO - Initial Coin Offerings - for a fake cryptocurrency.
What effects does a Crypto Scam have on a victim?
Investing in Cryptos means you’re investing in the future. In many cases, scammers take advantage of our innocence and wide-eyed enthusiasm for what the blockchain might offer. When you’re scammed this way, through your belief and hope that the future of finance is in DeFi, you feel as if your confidence for the future is being taken advantage of.
You feel ashamed, you’ve been tricked, in many cases, you feel as if your intelligence is called into question. Thankfully, you’re not alone. Crimes of this nature have ballooned over the years and there’s a reason why 4 out of 10 people who own cryptos fall victim to these types of scams. Crooks are much more sophisticated, much more adept at social engineering, and much more motivated.
The pay-off for them is huge.
Types of Crypto Scams
Crypto scams are skyrocketing — Why? Because the payoff for criminals is massive. Crooks are investing a lot in this type of crime. Not only with state-of-the-art technology but with expert team members and even psychologists in order to better their social engineering practices.
Some of the most common scams are:
- Obtain digital wallet info: phishing tactics, romance scams, extortion emails, and giveaways are created in order for the victim to give out critical information regarding their digital wallet’s acmes code. In some cases even hardware, hardware, is employed by the scammers — you’re mailed a free product that can gain access to your digital wallet when it's used.
- Transferring cryptocurrency: a scammer, either by impersonation, by giving you fraudulent investment opportunities, extortion, or through other malicious means gets you to transfer cryptocurrencies into an unprotected broker or digital wallet.
- Fake ICO: scammers create elaborate whitepapers, with sophisticated-looking websites and give you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — the ability to invest in the next big cryptocurrency, something that will rival Bitcoin, before the rest of the public. You transfer funds, and later find out that the crypto in question was never produced.
