LATOKEN Review about actual crypto scams: who are crypto scammers in 2022? What are the new strategies and techniques they are using? What cases have occurred since the beginning of the year?
Let’s dive and find out with LATOKEN.
Recent cases of crypto scam
Crypto assets attract traders and those who want to earn money honestly. Also, they attract unscrupulous scammers who use anonymity and lack regulation or enforcement of this sphere for their purposes.
According to a recent report by Chainalysis, a blockchain data company, in 2021, scammers stole $14 billion worth of cryptocurrency. It’s almost twice as much as the $7.8 billion received by fraudsters in 2020. Therefore, investments related to cryptocurrencies and digital assets may become a big threat to individual investors in 2022.
Scam offers related to promissory notes, money fraud offered via the Internet and social networks, as well as fraud using independent individual retirement accounts, have filled the NASAA’s list of the four main threats to the financial health of retail investors.
And most often scam affects trends:
Already in 2022, among several incidents, hackers stole $2.2 million worth of NFT in January from New York art collector Todd Kramer. A month later, about $1.7 million worth of NFTs were stolen from OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT market, as a result of an alleged phishing scam.
Users of one of the most popular crypto wallets MetaMask regularly report unauthorized transactions. According to CheckPoint Research, MetaMask users lost about $500,000 last fall as a result of a targeted phishing attack.
Here are some of the top crypto scams to watch out for in 2022
“Pig butchering” crypto scam
Some of the most popular crypto scams have funny names. However, for the victims of this scam, the consequences are very serious.
This scam usually begins on online dating sites, where the scammer uses an attractive profile picture to lure bait and then continues to bait for a certain period using online messages, while the victim steadily approaches and begins to trust the criminal more.
The scammers eventually tell the victim about the huge profits they have made in the cryptocurrency markets and offer a hint and an offer to follow some investment advice that will bring profit.
As a result, the money is lost as soon as it is sent, and the scammer uses fake websites to trick his victim into sending larger and larger amounts of money to a fake account.
It is usually impossible to return anything, and deceived people are left with nothing. This type of fraud originated in China and has been going on for a while.
Airdrop crypto scam
Another type of scam, known in the field of decentralized finance or DeFi, is associated with airdrops. Airdrop literally drops tokens into your digital wallet as a reward for certain actions.
But you should be careful because fraud is also possible here and works as follows: The subject gives you a token that apparently has value, and when you are going to exchange this airdrop for another, more well-known token, you give the protocol more permissions than you think.
Such an action allows a hacker to get access to the assets of your wallet, and what the scammers will do next, you probably can guess.
The easiest way to avoid this scam is to never permit unknown users to access your decentralized wallets without understanding what opportunities you provide.
Phishing crypto scam
Another common type of scam in cryptocurrency is phishing, which, like the classic method of pumping and dumping, is not specific to digital currency. Simply put, this means that victims are tricked into revealing sensitive data such as passwords, keys, etc.
The keys refer to the “private keys” required to open any secure crypto wallet. It is equivalent to your password and is the only one that gives you exclusive access to your funds. Phishing scams, which are also used for run-of-the-mill identity theft and various types of corporate fraud, often come by email when scammers pose as an authority and request credentials.
These schemes are also distributed on social networks. It seems that it’s so stupid and it won’t work with you, but believe, it still works and people are surprised at their naivety. One of the ways to stay safe from phishing is to use Two-Factor Authentication. This way, you have multiple layers of protection to reinforce your online security
Impersonator & ATM crypto scam
Not so long ago, the Federal Trade Commission warned that there is also a new cryptocurrency scam that should be paid attention to.
According to a report published by the FTC, the fraud is a “new trick” that involves a front person, a QR code, and a trip to the store to send money through a cryptocurrency ATM. Scammers mostly pose as the government, law enforcement agencies, prize organizers, or local utilities.
The most important thing to know here is that no one from the government, law enforcement agencies, utility companies, or prize organizers will ever ask you to pay them with cryptocurrency. If someone does this, there is a 99.99% chance that they are scammers.
LATOKEN always aims to create a safe ecosystem with zero bad apples.
About LATOKEN
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LATOKEN crypto exchange does not provide any investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. This article is written for informational purposes only. Like other assets, cryptocurrency is subject to market risk. Please do your own research and trade with caution.
