TOP 5 CRYPTO SCAMS OF 2023 TO AVOID

Cryptocurrency has truly revolutionized finance in the modern age, giving a good measure of financial control and circulation to the people, a feature which the government unendingly debates with. However, with cryptocurrency comes some disadvantages, as its decentralized nature is a magnetic pull for scammers and fraudsters seeking to rob people of their hard-earned money without being traced. So far millions of dollars have been lost by thousands, if not millions of investors all over the world through various cryptocurrency investments which are anything but genuine. With this article, we will offer a run-down of the 5 most widespread online cryptocurrency scams to keep you protected.

• Exit scams: This sort of scam involves a fake cryptocurrency exchange or trading companies created by scammers with which they advertise services, products or investment opportunities with unusually high returns and/or bonuses designed to attract an influx of investors who would eventually make deposits for which far little or no profit at all would return. However, the scammers would continue to make promises and excuses, urging their investors to channel more funds into their scheme until they make their exit, disappearing without a trace by shutting down websites and contacts.

• Fake wallets and exchanges: This runs by creating fake websites for the buying, selling and storage of cryptocurrencies with the sole purpose of stealing customer funds without keeping up to the end of the transaction and subsequently swiping funds stored in fake wallets without the owner’s consent.

• Fake cryptocurrencies: Scammers would often create fake cryptocurrencies and promote them as promising ICOs and selling them to first responders with the promise of a pump or overstating the value of a fake token or coin which in reality is worthless. Such operations are mostly carried out on telegram and twitter, eventually the scammer disappears with all funds gathered from investors.

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• Malware attacks: Hackers use malware to steal seed phrases and passwords without the knowledge of the owner, these specialized malware are able to pick up seed phrases and passwords that have been copied by the owner and even change them to that which belongs to the hacker or scammer in order to divert funds to a scammer’s wallet while a transaction takes place, leaving the owner confused as to how funds were deposited into a wrong address.

• Phishing scams: These are characterized by cloned websites or social media platforms of legitimate businesses or exchanges designed to entrap first responders who are too slow to spot the subtle differences in design, content or concepts between a fake and a real investment or website and make deposits or transactions believing that they are interacting with an original site which they know, this method is also used to steal personal and private information of individuals and also to perpetuate identity theft.

HOW TO STAY PROTECTED

These few tips are guaranteed to go a long way to ensure your online experience with exchanges or investments are much safer and secure.

• Avoid clicking on unknown links or proceeding to visit sites which your search engine labels unsafe as these are common means through which hackers invade your computer using various malware embedded in such strange links.
• Ensure to activate two-factor authentication on your mobile wallets and social media application, this is an extra layer of protection that is proven to keep hackers out of your wallet and privacy.
• keep your seed phrase safe by investing in a cold wallet, it is not advisable to store passwords or seed phrases on your computer or phones as they can be accessed this way if you share your computer with other people or have your phone stolen or if you fall victim of a hack.
• Always double check before clicking links in an email that look like it may be from your service provider as phishing emails can be quite convincing replicas of original sites.
• Use a strong antivirus software as an extra layer of protection for your computer.
• Beware of unsolicited offers or reward programs especially those advertised on social media, a lot of these are notorious for reeling people into elaborate cryptocurrency scams through airdrops or random giveaways.

As casually as we may have listed these scams, they carry very serious risks that have completely destroyed the lives of thousands of people all over the world and put them in financially vulnerable situations, not to mention the impact it has had on the mental health of victims. It is imperative that you take steps to protect your assets as well as your identity or information as there will always malicious entities ready to take control of them and use them for selfish gain.