The cryptocurrency industry is developing rapidly, and therefore the interest in it from scammers and fraudsters is growing just as quickly. We want to share our experience with you and warn our clients against possible financial losses.
Before we start looking at the main fraud scenarios, let's understand the difference between "Authorised Fraud’ and Non-Authorised Fraud".
Authorised Fraud - a situation where the victim has been tricked into authorising a payment.
Non Authorised Fraud - is where payment is made without the authority of the customer using customer personal information that they have obtained illegally.
How can I protect myself from fraud?
Tips to protect yourself
How scammers/fraudsters contact you
Below is the list of the well-known cryptocurrency fraud schemes
Forex brokers and account managers:
Have you been contacted by a forex broker, account manager or other investment adviser? Have they suggested investing with bitcoins? Before sending them any coins, we would recommend finding any information about their company on the internet, as most such companies are scams. It is illegal for companies to offer investment services without an appropriate regulatory license issued by a Government body. Please remember that you cannot trust someone contacting you through Facebook or any other social media sites such as Instagram or TikTok offering you investment services in relation to crypto. Some brokers may also ask you to pay “fees” before you can get the “profit” which is an indicator of fraud.
We strongly recommend that you research any company offering such services e.g. search Company XXX review”, or “Company XXX scam” and satisfy yourself that they have the appropriate regulatory license. If approached by a broker please ensure your broker to make sure they will answer your call. If you make contact via Skype, always ask to turn on the camera and ask for the office number.
Fake 911 calls:
Nowadays, there is a new way of scamming. Scammers make fake calls to random people and introduce themselves as representatives of emergency asking people to send money in bitcoins to them for some reason.
PLEASE stay away from them! An emergency will NEVER ask you to send them money, especially in crypto!
Cloud mining:
Cloud mining can be productive and profitable, but if a mining service asks you to send Bitcoin to start getting profit, most likely, the service is a scam.
Always ask if they accept bank transfer payments. Fraudsters do not like to share their personal information, including bank details. If they provide you with bank details, make sure the company is legal and real.
Technical Support:
Did a ‘technical support representative contact you via phone to help you to extend your subscription? Did the person ask you to provide your document in a web camera to identify you? You can be sure that it is a scam and they are seeing your personal information in order to scam you. Genuine companies will never ask you to provide your details that way.
Government authorities:
Another popular scam among fraudsters is making fake calls or sending fake emails to random people on behalf of Government authorities such as the Inland Revenue or IRS.
Please remember that government authorities will NEVER ask you to send them payment in crypto.
If you have received a similar email or had a similar phone talk, we recommend contacting your local police for more help.
Video games:
Do you enjoy playing online video games? Have you ever had a dream to be the strongest player on your server?
Nowadays, there are many people on gaming forums, who offer gamers all this stuff and even more, of course, for the money, but among the sellers of the stuff, there are a lot of scammers! And most of them accept bitcoins only.
So before buying anything, we would recommend you to find any feedback about your seller.
Third-party services:
Before ordering something from a service where Bitcoin is accepted, google some feedback about the purchasing vendor. Many marketplaces cannot only send you goods that differ from your order but even have no intention to send anything at all.
Do not share Your personal information, Government ID, or card credentials over the Internet. Especially, do not show any of this information during a Video call - the person on the other end can take a screenshot and use your personal information elsewhere.
Beware when someone offers You "Wanna do fast $200?" over the Internet and asks for any of your Personal Information. A full set of PII (Personal Identifiable Information) can be bought for as little as $50. Maybe you will earn $200 today, but you will lose much more waking up tomorrow.
Dating sites:
Do not make financial payments to someone online you have never met in person.
Be wary of online relationships that develop very quickly, make sure that your ‘friend’ is not talking to you about you providing them with financial aid, or is asking for money in order to come to your country and see you as these are tactics commonly used by romance scammers. In addition, be aware of anyone offering you a ‘Sugar Daddy’ relationship where you are asked to provide them with advance payments in crypto. Be aware that the recovery of money sent by cryptocurrency in these circumstances is very rare.
Payment recovery agency:
We strongly advise against contacting agencies that purport to offer assistance in money recovery from previous investment scams. Instead please try to contact the recipient of the funds in order to get a refund. If they fail to refund you and you have fallen victim to a crime we recommend reporting a case of cybercrime, by visiting the following site:
For customers from Europe: https://www.europol.europa.eu/report-a-crime/report-cybercrime-online
For customers from the USA: https://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx
Remember cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible. Be aware that the recovery of money sent by cryptocurrency is rare.
Airbnb scam:
Are you trying to make a rental deposit on Airbnb? Beware of Airbnb scammers. Specifically, there is a phishing website in existence that looks very similar to Airbnb’s website. The fraudsters pose as Airbnb representatives and ask users to make payments in Bitcoin. However, Airbnb does not accept payments in Bitcoin for property rental
Please double-check the URL or link before you pay. Pay attention to the e-mail of the agent. Try to find this e-mail address or contact number on the Airbnb official site to confirm that you are dealing with a genuine agent.
Tips to protect yourself from these types of scams
- Never provide a stranger remote access to your computer.
- To verify the legitimacy of any contact, find them through an independent source such as a phone book, past bill, or online search.
- Don't click on hyperlinks in text/social media messages or emails, even if they appear to come from a trusted source.
- Never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for personal or financial details — just press delete or hang up.
- Keep the security on your network and devices up-to-date, and have a good firewall to protect your data.
- Always check an e-mail or website URL to make sure that there are no extra words.
- Check the review for the company you are working within the internet. Make sure that people do not complain about scams and money loss.
- Check the company's license number on the internet.
- If you are not familiar with cryptocurrency, we would suggest you learn more and understand how it works.
- Always consider the possibility an online approach could be a scam.
How scammers/fraudsters contact you
- Calling you or coming to your door
- Contacting you (including advertising) via social media including skype, Telegram, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
- Setting up websites that look real.
- Impersonation of government authorities via messages, calls, or e-mails
- Collecting information about you from social pages, so when they make contact, they are more convincing.
- Dating sites