Be careful with your cryptocurrencies! The five most common crypto frauds

Cryptocurrencies have become the new investment market-making inroads among the young and not-so-young. In 2021, cryptocurrencies hit record high prices, reached new users, and became a more critical and mainstream financial strategy for both individuals and institutions. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the more mainstream something becomes, the more it will also attract the attention of those who will try to make illicit use of it to enrich themselves through fraud and scams.

According to a report by the Chain analysis platform, we know that in 2021, along with the historical values of Bitcoin and so many others, also the volume of this type of illicit activities related to cryptocurrencies reached an all-time high at $14 billion, 80% more than in 2020 when the figure was close to $7.8 billion. There are numerous types of crypto fraud, but these are the five most frequent in networks and apps.

Fake verified accounts

One way cryptocurrency scammers try to trick other social network users for their illicit purposes is by posing as verified accounts. This usually generates a false climate of trust for users of these networks to fall for their deceptions. These fraudsters make the blue verification mark appear where it should be, which a priori does not distinguish it from the real accounts authorized by Twitter. However, beyond imitating the aesthetics, the social network of the little bird also includes the following message just by placing the mouse over it or clicking on the verification symbol so that it can be used to distinguish one from another: "Account information. This account is verified because it has notoriety in the government, news, entertainment or other designated category".

Answers with fake accounts

As we have said before, cybercriminals can impersonate verified accounts by adding that symbol, but on other occasions, what they do is to change the identity included in the profile information by impersonating media or programs with public notoriety, as was the case of Troy Stecher's account theft to impersonate the official Twitter of "Saturday Night". In this way, as many people tend to be on the lookout for responses to celebrity tweets, they can impersonate not-so-well-known profiles to respond to these big celebrities as it suits their fraudulent purposes.

Fake sweepstakes of impersonated brands

Sometimes scammers directly impersonate big brands to attract the attention of users. With this bait, they promise users to double their earnings in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies if they are the lucky winner, although they first ask you to deposit your money in the address of a wallet. In case of doubt, it is recommended that you first search for the sweepstakes on Google, if it has been the subject of any news that validates the promotion, verify that the URL of the sweepstakes corresponds to a real corporate web address, and even check other social networks of that brand to see if the sweepstakes are also being shared. In addition, it is worth remembering that any real sweepstakes should have its legal bases published, although the latter can also be falsified.

YouTube smoke-sellers

By now, you may have seen advertising, or you may have come across a video of a guru who has been successfully investing in cryptocurrencies and is practically going to make you rich just for having fallen into that playback. Beyond the frauds that their success stories and the courses, they offer maybe, on many occasions, these videos with economic success stories include a link to some kind of promotion that, in reality, is the gateway to their fraud. Check the YouTube channel, using statistics such as the number of videos and followers or if it has the platform's gray authentication badge. However, they may have supplanted or stolen other channels.

Love for cryptocurrencies on Tinder

Although the purpose of Tinder is to connect people for flirting, many users use such applications for shadier purposes, as demonstrated by the Netflix production: The Tinder Scammer, the true story of the scammer Simon Leviev and how he seduced women on the internet to swindle them out of millions of dollars. So is it love, or is it a scam? The same can be applied to cryptocurrencies in this or other dating apps. If you have managed to make a match and it turns out that your hypothetical future date starts to be interested in making you earn money by investing in Bitcoin, be suspicious. They are strategies to make you fall for cryptocurrency scams, and you will be left without money and love (hopefully at least in good health).