0
0
The interest and continued investment in cryptocurrencies also attracted cybercriminals, so here are the 5 most common scams in the world of virtual currencies
The growing popularity and earning potential of virtual currencies has recently attracted more and more people. As investments increase, hackers are also trying to take advantage of this trend by employing scams and malware designed specifically for cryptocurrencies.
As with any online scam, there are techniques to recognize and avoid it. Fear of hackers does not have to limit our investments, we just need to be more careful when buying virtual currencies and collecting the information needed to make the transformation. At present, there are basically five different methods used by cybercriminals on the Internet to deceive users interested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Here’s how to spot these scams and how to avoid being scammed by hackers.
Convertible cryptocurrencies
The development of Bitcoin and its siblings has led to a steady increase in the number of online virtual currency exchanges. In this way, we can buy a cryptocurrency and pay for it in euros or other cryptocurrencies we have. Unfortunately, many programs and sites on the Internet that offer virtual currency exchange services are actually a scam. To avoid losing our money, we recommend that you only use highly reliable sites for buying or exchanging cryptocurrencies. The best ones at the moment are the ones online: Coinbase, Kraken, Bittrex, Cryptopia.
Diagrams of a financial or Ponzi scheme
Pyramid or Ponzi scheme selling schemes are scam schemes often used by cybercriminals to steal money from people interested in Bitcoin or other virtual currencies. These systems are not created in the digital world, but in the sale of non-existent products or services. Thanks to a kind of cascade system that works like a chain, everyone who introduces a new customer to the system earns a percentage from the sale of that person. This system is also used to sell some cryptocurrencies. It is a pity that after months of investment and work, we will not get anything, because there is no virtual currency behind the company that accosted us. In India, the scam company OneCoin was scamming several online users with this method in early 2017, and totaled over $ 350 million. And only a fraction of that money was recovered.
Camouflaged Prices
Some cyber criminals use a scam that is already present in the financial world to deceive users with fake virtual currency offers. It doesn’t require technology or cryptography to work. This is mere fraudulent selling. Basically, at the time of sale, the price of a new cryptocurrency is pumped upwards to make us pay more, but once we buy it, it loses all its value. The scammers will tell us that, unfortunately, due to the market reaction, our coin depreciated, but in fact it never had the valuation we were given at the beginning of the transformation. Now this scam is only possible with newly created and semi-unknown virtual currencies. Bitcoin, for example, has a valuation that compares in dollars or gold and therefore it is impossible or nearly impossible to be defrauded this way. Therefore, it is always better to buy reliable and known virtual currencies, even if they cost a little more.
Beware of ICO scams
An ICO to Initial Coin Offer. That is, the first offer of a new currency. Thanks to cryptocurrencies, everyone can issue their own currency. However, a newly issued coin is usually not very valuable. However, if you were able to buy a coin that has just been issued and is worth little, if its value goes up, you could earn a lot without doing anything. Of course, cybercriminals have spread many completely bogus and fraudulent ICO offers online. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not make purchases if: there is no accurate or up-to-date information on the company that generated the coin, if we cannot find any information on the internet about the company issuing the coin, and if we notice questionable business practices such as insider trading.
Watch out for investing in DAO
Some DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) have successfully issued their own cryptocurrencies on the Internet. These systems can be a very good way to earn money, especially if at the beginning we have little money to invest and we cannot afford a very well-known virtual currency. Unfortunately, however, these systems are less secure. In 2016, for example, the DAO system was manipulated by a hacker who stole a third of all the group’s coins on his account. Money that has never been recovered.
