What is a virtual currency scam?
Cryptocurrency fraud is an act of committing fraud through “virtual currency” or “cryptocurrency”, an electronic currency verified by blockchain technology. Since virtual currency is a product of a new technology, it is difficult for the general public to understand its full picture without prior research. This gives fraud groups an opportunity to take advantage of it and often use virtual currency to defraud property.
So, what methods do fraud groups usually use to commit fraud? This article will analyze common virtual currency fraud techniques, understand what are the most common fraud techniques, and how we can identify the correct information to avoid being defrauded by unscrupulous people.
What are the methods of virtual currency fraud?
List of common techniques for virtual currency fraud:
dating scam
False investment information advertisements
Fake coin buying ads
Phishing messages, email letters
Fraudulent communities and societies (Line, Facebook...etc.)
Fake virtual currency trading platform
Real platform fake links, tools (such as exchanges, hot wallets)
Fake ICO fundraising
Virtual currency fraud methods can be roughly divided into two types. One is to change the medicine without changing the medicine, and virtual currency is just a cover and rhetoric type. The other is to actually set a trap in the process of investing in virtual currency to defraud. assets.
The above fraud techniques may even combine and cover each other to lure victims into the trap step by step. We must always remain vigilant and not easily hand over our assets and funds to others.
Fraud changes the soup without changing the medicine, virtual currency is just a cover
This type of virtual currency scams often do not delve into the virtual currency itself, but instead emphasize the matter of "making big money by investing."
Dating scams, false investment information, and fake trading platforms all fall into this category. In particular, the frequency of dating scams is quite high. Scam groups often pretend to be serious about making friends at first, and then use the pretense of "teaching" after gaining trust. In the name of inducing victims to use fake trading platforms, purchase fake virtual currencies, or join investment communities organized by fraud groups... etc., they may pretend to be profitable at first to increase the credibility of this investment method. Waiting for the victim to invest more funds. Finally, if the victim wants to withdraw the funds, he will use various reasons not to withdraw the funds to the victim, or even require more funds to be invested in exchange for the right to withdraw.
If you are someone who is familiar with the methods of general fraud groups, are you quite familiar with this method?
That's right! This method is no different from ordinary investment fraud. "Virtual currency" can be painlessly converted into any investment-related words, such as stocks, funds, etc.
Therefore, this method is the so-called changing the soup without changing the medicine. It just takes advantage of the public's idea of relying on investment to make money to defraud property.
True and false, false and true, don’t believe it easily and don’t mess up the links!
Another of the most visible virtual currency scams is phishing information. The fraud group will pretend to be an exchange employee or a community administrator of the project team to contact the victim and inform the victim that they must obtain something by providing their account information. For example, it may be a fake exchange employee telling you in a letter There are security issues with your account, and you need to provide your account password to solve the problem, or fake project personnel come to tell you that you have won a prize! You need to provide certain user information to qualify for the prize, and it’s only for a limited time! It has to be given quickly to get it. In the next step, they will often throw out fake phishing links to ask you to click or provide information in them, so don’t believe them!
These are very common ways for fraud groups to throw out phishing links. Even simpler, they will throw links directly into certain groups and communities. Don’t click!
Pitfalls in the virtual currency investment process
Wouldn’t people who have some knowledge of fraud techniques not be deceived? Just knowing the above may not be enough! When you really step into the world of virtual currency investment, you will encounter more and more various virtual currency fraud methods. Sometimes there will be real and credible exchange names, but the links will be fake phishing links. Or maybe you want to buy virtual currency with Taiwan dollars through OTC trading, but you encounter third-party fraud, or even accidentally authorize the use of a hot wallet, resulting in asset theft. Finally, there was a fake ICO to raise funds, resulting in the loss of all investment funds.
Cryptocurrency fraud techniques are really diverse, and many may be combined with traditional fraud techniques to trick victims into being fooled step by step. We must always be vigilant to avoid being deceived.
How to identify and avoid virtual currency fraud?
Check it out yourself! Find credible information websites
Generally in the virtual currency circle, when everyone is looking for project or exchange-related information, they will use the following two websites to conduct the most basic inquiries and confirmations:
CoinMarketCap
Coingeko
The author himself often double-checks the information on these two websites to avoid unknowingly using the wrong link or getting the wrong information.
Don’t trust what the community says
When many people encounter problems, they often go to the community to seek answers, and there are often enthusiastic people in the community to help answer questions. Fraudulent groups are also familiar with this situation. They will ambush in the community and induce them when someone asks. When the community administrator cannot monitor the group 24 hours a day, it is difficult to completely avoid this situation. Therefore, we have The answers you get in the community must be treated with suspicion and you must verify it yourself. Even well-known communities cannot be trusted.
High interest rates, 80% of the money you get is a scam! Seek confirmation first before speaking
Don’t be greedy. It is no exaggeration to say that if you can put away greed, you can avoid more than half of the fraud methods. Many fraud syndicates use words to tell their victims that this investment is very profitable, very profitable, and will definitely be profitable. They are "sharing" this good method with you, but where is there a free lunch in the world? This often becomes the best way for fraud groups to induce victims.
So, are high interest rates or high returns necessarily fake? This is not necessarily true, but what remains the same is that we must first understand how this thing works. Why does this investment have the opportunity to get a high rate of return? Whether it contains huge risks, we must first clarify these.
Of course, it goes without saying that someone suddenly informs you that you have won a lottery. You need to seek verification first and don’t believe too much in your luck.
Ask others for help! Dial 165 anti-fraud hotline to inquire
What if you’ve done a lot of research but still don’t have a clue? As long as you suspect fraud, you can call the 165 anti-fraud hotline of the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior and tell them what kind of situation you are currently encountering, and experienced personnel will answer your questions.
What should I do if a virtual currency fraud occurs?
Call the police, there is no second option.
First of all, you must carefully organize relevant evidence. Any screenshots of conversations with the fraud group or evidence of fund transactions must be well preserved and organized, and go to the nearby police station to report the crime. Don’t panic first, and inform the police of the overall situation. .
What information needs to be sorted out? Here are a few points for readers’ reference:
Conversation record
Deposit exchange website
Virtual currency related addresses (yours & the other party’s)
Cash flow records and transfer records (both Taiwan dollars and virtual currencies are required)
Can I get my money back from virtual currency fraud?
To be honest, this is not easy. Just like many common scams in our news, the location of the fraud group is often abroad, and the source is difficult to trace. It is quite difficult to get back the lost assets or funds. All we can do is seize the first golden moment of the crime and try our best to provide the police with relevant information and evidence, so that the police can better and faster track down the criminals.
Although it is sad to be deceived, we still have to seize the small hope and learn the lesson so as not to be deceived again in the future!
News related to virtual currency fraud (organized as of 2023/8/1)
Sangbi has helped you sort out the content we have reported recently, so that readers can easily grasp the recent news related to virtual currency fraud.
As Threads approaches 100 million registered users, scammers are beginning to impersonate crypto celebrities on the platform
Google phishing is rampant! Scam Sniffer: Scammers made more than $4 million in advertising in the past month
A repeat fraudster created more than 114 meme scams in 1.5 months, but can he really make a million dollars a month?
Have I been cheated? How to spot a virtual currency scam?
Australian police warn: Scammers place fake cryptocurrency paper wallets in public places to defraud people of their cryptocurrency
For more news about virtual currency scams, please refer to this page.
This article reveals the 2023 virtual currency fraud methods! An article to help you crack the virtual currency scam first appeared in Zombit.