Scams : If you know what you are doing, crypto can be a very lucrative endeavor, but it is also ripe for scams. Do not be deceived. Here are some suggestions on how to look or get an appointment for antique items.
If it suits Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and Tim Cook, you can certainly win a lot of crypto games, right? If you have money you can burn it, maybe, and we have a startup guide. But you could also be just a few clicks of a mouse from losing your retirement money to a cartoon dog or a “coin” tied to a popular TV broadcast program.
With price fluctuations, currency-based scams, and inaccurate information from influencers, cryptocurrency is a volatile market, and you need to be careful. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), US consumers have lost more than $ 80 million in cryptocurrency scams over a six-month period between October and March 2020. And grifts continue; those behind the cryptocurrency Squid Game seized an estimated $ 3.38 million earlier this month.
While some scams are easy to spot, others are less obvious. And because the existing protection of fiat currencies like the US dollar is usually not in crypto, once that currency is gone, it is gone. Here’s what to look for and how to avoid being deceived.
Best Ways to Avoid Crypto Scams
How can you protect yourself from crypto scams? Here are a few things to consider before entering into all Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital currencies.
Do not take any information about face value. Investigate claims made about any investment, especially if they seem too good to be true or promise to be overnight. The 2020 Twitter scam was all over the place.
Do not trust anyone — government officials, public officials, strangers — who are directly contacting you asking for payments in cryptocurrency or giving you an “investment opportunity.”
Never share your secret key or seed phrase in your cryptocurrency wallet with anyone, and keep that information somewhere offline, called a wallet.
Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible on any type of crypto wallet and exchange you use. But be aware that this is not a definitive solution, as we have seen when Coinbase is hacked.
Check two or three times the website URLs. Fraudsters who try to steal sensitive information will copy the URL of official sites and change the letters and numbers — “l” “1” or “0” to the letter “Oh,” for example.
Reject any offer that requires prepaid money no matter what happens, but especially if that money has to be paid in cryptocurrency.
How to Recognize Common Scams
While some crypto scams are different in the world of digital currency, most of them are twisted to existing scams. Some target people who want to invest in cryptocurrency, while others rely on digital currency distribution to steal money without being tracked.
Investment Scams
If someone contacts you with an investment opportunity “once in a lifetime”, there is a good chance you will run the other way. They will often say that their company or app is the next big thing, and that you can get rich if you go down. They will sell you hard on their product and then the sale will feel urgent, and then they will disappear with your money.
Sometimes this scam takes the form of “financial managers” who offer to help grow your assets by giving them to invest. They will set up what they say is your crypto investment account, but you will not be able to access your money unless you pay them.
Some investment scams in the crypto space work like pyramid schemes. The scam will convince you to pay them in crypto for the right to hire other people. In their system, saying you will make more money once you bring in others. They say that the more you ‘invest in,’ the less likely you are to lose your job, but all you have to do is break promises.
Sometimes a fraudulent company will introduce a new cryptocurrency coin or token. Claiming it solves an important unmet need in the market. They will throw you into their product and ask you to buy their coin as an investment that will pay 100 times later, and then disappear. The Squid-based coin is a perfect example of this.
When investing, check the company’s website to see what it does to protect its customers. Be aware of many program errors and typos, which may indicate fraud. Search for validated updates on social media. Searching for a company name with “update” or “scam” is a good way to start.
Theft of sensitive information
When common phishing scams reach your email or bank credentials, phishing scams attempt to get your crypto wallet keys. This can also be referred to as “technical support scams,” . As the person conducting the scam will usually act as technical support to try to access your information.
Representatives of fraudulent companies – or claims to be legal. Will contact you and offer to help you manage your crypto if you provide them with your login details. They may also say that they need remote access to your computer or other device, or they want you to send crypto to a suspicious wallet address.
Never give out sensitive information to unsolicited contacts, no matter how convincing or urgent it may seem. If they say they have a legitimate company, double check their information. Coinbase, for example, tells people to only accept calls from the helpline or email list listed on their website.
Giveaway Scams
As some celebrities and public figures often talk about crypto. In their social media accounts, fraudsters will arrange fake gifts using their names and identities to get money from people. They may even respond to posts provided by other fake accounts to make it appear legitimate. This is what happened when the hackers compromised the Twitter accounts of high-level users with the rise of fake crypto. If it seems strange or too good to be true, clarify.
