Bitcoin scams have been expanding recently. With Bitcoin’s outstanding success over time, it has been the market’s most beloved digital currency. However, investors, con artists, and cheaters are attracted to Bitcoin because of its attractive pricing. Furthermore, they may also play the false role of a well-known cryptocurrency exchange to trick investors. For instance, the bitcoin market attracts a large number of wealthy investors and it may seem like an effortless way to target them.
Most Popular Bitcoin scams to Avoid:
Here are the most popular Bitcoin scams one must be aware of.
Bitcoin blackmail schemes:
This scheme is one of the most popular bitcoin scams. Here, con artists occasionally pose as the tax officers, pressurizing victims into parting with their money. They may also pretend to be hackers with some damning information.
One typical variation of this con is when an unsolicited email arrives from someone claiming to be a hacker, someone who claims to have gained access to your computer. They will declare they have discovered some incriminating evidence or have accessed your webcam and recorded a video of you doing something humiliating, something that you would prefer other people not to know about. The incriminating proof will be sent to all your email or social media connections unless you provide the blackmailer with some Bitcoin. The emails usually include directions on how to get Bitcoin and where to send it.
Naturally, everything is a lie. Even if you consider paying the fake blackmailers, it will not make a difference because they never had any proof in the first place. Such a bitcoin scam resembles a number game in which the con artists believe that if they send out enough emails, enough people will be alarmed and send them some Bitcoin.
How to avoid Bitcoin blackmail scams:
- Check online to discover whether others have reported receiving the same email.
- Do not believe the con artists.
- To browse more discreetly and to increase your security against this kind of bitcoin scam, utilize a VPN.
Malware scams:
Online scammers have always used malware as a tool. But because cryptocurrencies are complex and highly technical, and most people don’t fully understand them, malware has become more dangerous.
Crypto-related malwares are implemented to access your web wallet and drain your account, scan the Windows clipboard for cryptocurrency addresses, replace your actual address with a scammer’s address, or even infect your machine with a cryptocurrency miner.
How to avoid bitcoin malware scams:
- To safeguard yourself from a malware attack, regularly update your antivirus program.
- Never download or install a software unless you are sure it is from a reliable or trustworthy source.
- Never open shady attachments.
Phishing scheme:
It’s a con that you may already be aware of because it is frequently used to prey on clients from significant exchanges and institutions.
This form of bitcoin scam, called “phishing,” happens when you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from your bank or, in this example, your cryptocurrency exchange or wallet provider. Although it seems to be the exchange or wallet you typically use, this email contains a link that directs you to a dishonest website. When you submit your account information on this unauthorized page, scammers have all the information they need to get into your existing account and withdraw your money.
How to stay clear of phishing scams:
- Verify URLs to be sure you are accessing a legitimate website.
- Avoid clicking on fraudulent links that are sent to you via email.
- Never reveal the private key to your Crypto wallet.
Pyramid or Ponzi schemes:
A Ponzi scheme is one of the most straightforward yet frighteningly successful bitcoin scams that entice new investors with the promise of huge profits. It operates as follows: a promoter persuades individuals to invest in their plan. These original investors get dividends from the capital newer investors have invested, which they mistake for returns. The investors who received rewards get convinced that the plan is legitimate. Hence, they continue to participate and persuade new investors to do the same.
The scheme eventually fails when the promoter disappears with the money or when it gets too challenging for the promoter to attract fresh investors. Although these pyramid schemes aren’t new and seem recognizable, it hasn’t stopped a few high-profile cases of bitcoin scams fooling cryptocurrency consumers with a Pyramid scheme.
How to avoid Ponzi/pyramid schemes?
- Be wary of cryptocurrency schemes that entice you with more money if you recruit more investors.
- Never put your faith in a plan that makes unreasonably high return guarantees.
Pump and dump scams:
The rise of “pump and dump” schemes has been attributed to dismissing cryptocurrencies as speculators’ paradise suitable for some market manipulation. This is when huge groups of purchasers target an altcoin with a small market cap, buy that coin in massive quantities at a specific moment to drive up its price (which draws plenty of new buyers spurred by FOMO—fear of missing out), and then sell to profit from the sharp price growth.
Despite being forbidden in conventional securities markets, this activity is popular in the primarily unregulated realm of cryptocurrency. Therefore, it’s crucial to be informed and to understand how one can avoid these bitcoin scams because numerous online organizations and forums are devoted to this practice.
How to stay clear of a pump and dump fraud:
- Be cautious of low-market-cap cryptocurrency assets whose prices have recently increased significantly despite their typically modest trading activity.
- Watch out for “false news” relating to specific coins on social media.
- Before investing, thoroughly investigate the credentials of any cryptocurrency.
Summary:
Scammers and cheaters are drawn to the Bitcoin market because of its competitive pricing.
- Malware targeting cryptocurrencies can access your web wallet and drain your funds, search the Windows clipboard for cryptocurrency addresses, change your address to a scammer’s address, or infect your computer with a miner that mines cryptocurrencies.
- It could be a phishing scam if you get an email that appears from your bank or wallet provider.
- A Ponzi scheme is a bitcoin scam that lures in new investors by promising them astronomically high returns.
- To ensure that you are reading a legitimate website, double-check the URLs.
The perception of cryptocurrencies as a haven for speculators has contributed to the growth of “pump and dump” operations. This is when sizable groups of buyers focus on an alternative cryptocurrency with a low market cap and acquire that coin in many volumes to raise its price.
