{"id":2461,"date":"2021-06-28T16:45:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T16:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/?p=2461"},"modified":"2021-06-28T17:24:46","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T17:24:46","slug":"crypto_alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/crypto_alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing ads for cryptocurrecy investments? Could be a scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin. Ethereum. Dogecoin. These are just a few of the\u00a0thousands of so-called cryptocurrencies that have emerged in recent years as a medium for the exchange of goods and services.\u00a0These currencies rely on blockchain technology, essentially a digital ledger where all transactions involving a virtual currency are stored.\u00a0Cryptocurrencies\u00a0are not\u00a0government-regulated currencies the way that U.S. dollars, euros, yen, or pounds sterling\u00a0are. However, they are increasingly being used by everyday consumers and, unfortunately, scammers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to the nature of peer-to-peer currency transactions, fraud is becoming more\u00a0common\u00a0within cryptocurrency markets.\u00a0According to the\u00a0<\/span>Federal Trade Commission<\/span><\/a>,\u00a07,000\u00a0complainants\u00a0have reported losses of more than $80 million\u00a0due\u00a0to cryptocurrency\u00a0investment\u00a0scams since October 2020.\u00a0According to the FTC,\u00a0consumers\u00a0aged 20-49 are five times more likely to report losing money on investments in cryptocurrency than older age groups.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMario,\u201d a consumer\u00a0from California\u00a0who recently contacted Fraud.org,\u00a0is typical of the complaints we\u00a0are\u00a0receiving.\u00a0\u201cI did my first investment of $625.00 in Bitcoins, then I did an additional investment of $12,2000 using Bitcoins, and I was supposed to receive my profit the next month,\u201d wrote Mario.\u00a0\u201cWhen I was trying to complete my profit withdrawal, the system came in with an error. After that, I tried to contact the cryptocurrency company without any response or success.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cryptocurrencies\u2019\u00a0instantaneous transactions,\u00a0global reach, and relative anonymity\u00a0have resulted in\u00a0them\u00a0being used as a\u00a0payment method\u00a0in\u00a0many\u00a0fraud cases\u00a0such as giveaway scams, imposter websites, and phishing emails. Giveaway scams occur when accounts posing as celebrities promise to immediately multiple the money you invest in cryptocurrencies. People are often lured to websites that look like opportunities for investing or mining cryptocurrencies, offering larger returns for larger investments.\u00a0Initial coin offerings (\u201cICOs\u201d), the first offerings on a particular cryptocurrency for sale,\u00a0are\u00a0<\/span>often<\/span><\/a>\u00a0vehicles for fraud,\u00a0used to hack investors’ crypto-wallets and steal their\u00a0legitimate cryptocurrencies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reduce your risk of falling victim to cryptocurrency fraud. Here’s how:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Remember the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. <\/span><\/b>Be skeptical of websites and people promoting large returns on investments. Don\u2019t trust offers that come from messages or posts on social media websites. If someone is asking for even a small amount of your cryptocurrency, it is likely a scam. Never send cryptocurrencies to giveaways or online prize promotions. Be aware that such requests may come\u00a0under the guise of identity verification.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Be protective of your personal information.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Never give out your two-factor authentication security codes or passwords. Never give support staff remote access to your machine, as this provides them with full access to your computer and online financial accounts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Research.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Verify that email addresses are legitimately connected to the cryptocurrency company. If there isn\u2019t a small lock icon indicating security near the website\u2019s URL bar, think twice. Double-check the website\u2019s URLs to ensure that you\u2019re visiting a trustworthy website. Look into any entity soliciting you on social media. Contact the company if you have any doubts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    According to the FTC,\u00a0consumers\u00a0aged 20-49 are five times more likely to report losing money on investments in cryptocurrency than older age groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2461"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2464,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461\/revisions\/2464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fraud.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

    If<\/span>\u00a0you or someone you know<\/span>\u00a0has<\/span>\u00a0been a victim of a<\/span> crypto<\/span>\u00a0scam<\/span>\u00a0or any other type of fraud<\/span>, we urge you to <\/span>file a complaint at Fraud.org via\u00a0our\u00a0<\/span>online complaint form.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"