The scam artist doesn’t have boundaries. In a modern society with an increased reliance on the internet and personal data being uploaded every day, cybercriminals frequently try to take advantage of internet users. This applies to the world of cryptocurrency just as much as other online services that people use. Throughout this article, some of the most common crypto scams are going to be dissected and discussed in more detail so you know exactly what to look out for.
What is a Crypto Scam?
A crypto scam is a variation of a financial scam. The only difference between the two is that the scammers will try to gain unwarranted access to your crypto assets rather than your money. A lot of the tactics employed by crypto scammers are the same as those used in financial scams, luring you in with fake promises or threats to make you hand over your digital assets. Some will involve asking you to trade but without ever giving you anything in return, others will involve gaining access to your crypto wallet. So, what exactly should you be looking out for?
Fake Crypto Exchanges and Wallets
If you have a look online and on different social media platforms, you’ll see plenty of different ads and promotions for cheap Bitcoin and Ethereum. Though at first glance, these look promising, when you enter your details to purchase an asset below market value, you might find you’ve fallen victim to a fake crypto product. These often promise you large returns on investment and have a sense of urgency attached them such as a tagline stating that this particular offer is only available for the next few hours or so.
You can avoid these scams by making sure that you only purchase and trade tokens on trusted sites. With so many different tokens available these days, there are resources like Cosmos set up which allow you to easily buy and trade different forms of currency all within the same trusted space. OKX provide plenty of information on Cosmos at https://www.okx.com/learn/what-is-cosmos.
Investment Scams
An investment scam will involve a bad actor who tries to persuade people to purchase different forms of crypto, promising huge gains if they do. Common roles taken on by such scammers include investment managers and money coaches who will promise to grow your investment by you transferring either funds or your existing cryptocurrency over to them. There are even scams on social media where people will pretend to be a friend or a family member so you’re a lot more inclined to trust them.
Phishing Scams
These are an old favorite for scammers that get used every day. Phishing scams are when cybercriminals will attempt to get access to your account and obtain your account details by making you click on a fake website and fill out information about yourself. These scammers will try to impersonate well-known companies like Amazon or Google to trick you into trusting them. If you receive an unsolicited message asking you to provide information, then it's a good idea for report it as spam and block the sender.
