The Common Types Of Cryptocurrency Scams To Avoid - P.3

The rapidly changing condition of the cryptocurrency market, as well as the sort of influence it will have on the future of commerce, has prompted many financial investors to pay closer attention to it. As ordinary investors, speculators, and all sorts of institutional investors continue to devote their attention to the lucrative cryptocurrency markets, so do fraudsters and cheaters.

Regarding the latest report released from Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel, allegations of crypto-related frauds increased from October 2020 to March 31, 2021, with almost 7,000 consumers claiming losses totaling more than $80 million. 1 These data represent a 12-fold increase in the number of reports over the same period last year, as well as a roughly 1,000% increase in reported losses. Given the exponential surge in reported crypto scams, it is critical to be aware of the most prevalent forms of scams and the kind of things you can do to protect yourself from being deceived.

Below are some of the most prominent types of crypto scams that every investor & trader should be aware of to secure the virtual properties in an effective way.

Blackmail and Extortion Scams

Scammers frequently employ blackmail emails as a kind of social engineering. In such emails, scammers claim to have a record of the user's visits to pornographic websites or other criminal services and threaten to reveal them unless the user shares private keys or sends bitcoin to the scammer. These are criminal extortion attempts and should be reported to law enforcement agencies such as the FBI or CIA.

Scammers frequently launch fraudulent ICOs, or cryptocurrencies, in order to steal large sums of money. Don't get taken in by these bogus email and website offers. Take your time going through all of the facts to prevent having your personal information taken by this sort of fraud.

Take caution when transferring your virtual money if you receive an email that looks just like one from a reputable cryptocurrency organization. Ask yourself several questions first to check the validity of the email. For instance, is the email exactly the same, and are the logo and branding the same? Can you confirm that the email address is legitimately associated with the company? One reason why it's crucial to pick a firm with real people working for it is the possibility to check on this. If you have any doubts about an email, ask someone who works there. And never, ever click on a link in a message to go to a site you're not sure about since you can lose some essential private info if you do.

Mobile Applications Fake/ Scams

Scammers also frequently use bogus applications downloadable on popular platforms like Google Play and the Apple Store to defraud cryptocurrency investors. Although investors can typically easily identify and delete fraudulent applications, it doesn't mean the apps aren't having an influence on many bottom lines. According to the most recent analysis from Bitcoin News, thousands of individuals have already downloaded fraudulent bitcoin apps, leading to the major increase in the number of cryptocurrency stolen cases this year alone.

While Android users are at a higher risk, every trader should be aware of the implications. Is there any glaring misspellings in the text or even the app's name? Is the branding unauthentic, with odd coloration or an erroneous logo? Take note and think twice before you decide to download any app related to crypto transactions.

Website Scams

You might be adopting a good recommendation from someone with a lot of skill and yet become a victim by accessing a bogus website by accident. There are a surprising amount of websites that have been put up to look like authentic, legitimate startup firms. Think twice if there isn't a little lock icon suggesting security near the URL bar and no "https" in the site address.

Even though the site appears to be the one you expect to be visiting, you may be led to another platform for payment. For example, you click on a link that appears to be a valid site, but attackers have produced a false URL with the link that appears to be very similar to the URL of the actual website. That platform, of course, does not take you to the bitcoin investment you've previously investigated, but rather to a bogus site where your personal information is at risk of being stolen. To avoid this, enter the URL exactly as it appears in your browser. Double-check the site you're going to enter to avoid accidentally joining a site you don't want to be a part of.