Cryptocurrency investments are on the rise. Investors from across the globe are pouring their funds into crypto investments. The first crypto to witness a global launch was in 2008. Bitcoin came to be known as the first-ever crypto. With growing interest, today there are more than 14k+ cryptos in the global market. It will also allow investors to diversify their investment portfolios. Aside from reading about scams, bitcoin and other crypto investors should also read updates on investment status as businesses are facing more uncertainty after a rocky start in 2022.
Are crypto scams on the rise?
With the growing interest in cryptos, there is also an increase in crypto scams. These scams mostly happen through social media.
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission found that most crypto scams happen online. Both Instagram and Facebook today are the hub for these scams. The federation received reports of more than $700 million in losses. Compared to 2017, this is a huge jump in the number of complaints. In 2017, the total number of scam cases was only 5k. But today, the same has increased to more than 100K. This is an increase of more than 18% and the volume of losses at more than 20%.
The precedence here is set to fake profiles using celebrity names. A recent incident to this is the latest arrest of an 18-year-old hacker in the US. The guy had gone ahead and infiltrated the Twitter accounts of both Joe Biden and Gates. The hacker was able to take complete control and generate tweets about cryptos. The guy was able to generate more than $100,000 in funding through his tweet.
Let us look at the top five crypto scams to look out for in 2022 –
Pig Butchering
Every crypto scamming incident indeed has colorful and popular names. The Pig Butchering scams start from online dating sites. The scammer has a profile created in his or her name in the tool. The scammers then try to lure resources through online messaging. This way the scammer earns the trust of an investor. Eventually, the conversation slips to cryptos, and many benefits that scammer accrued.
Pump and Dump scam
Now, that’s another attractive name. These types of scams are not very unique to cryptos alone. It happens on every investment without any regulations in place. Public investors who are new to this investment model tend to invest in penny assets. This is because of the word-of-mouth advertisement. Many investors hype their profit online. It lures investors and investment tends to flow.
Rug pull scamming
One important type of scamming that you need to stay away from is rug pull. This type of scamming is undertaken by developers. The crypto promoters create and hype up their tokens in the market. Once the required funds are mobilized, the developers in turn flee from the market. This is when investors leave without a penniless token. This type of scamming got huge attention in the year 2021. Remember the popular Netflix series Squid Game. Yes, the series’ success created another popular token in the same name. Investors from across the globe made their funding on this token. It was very late when investors realized that it is only a scam.
Phishing scam
Not specific to a digital currency alone, a phishing scam is a popular term. Phishing is an activity to trick victims into revealing personal data. This could be your password or sensitive data including bank account details. In certain cases, there is also a private key shared through phishing. Such kind of phishing scams often come through emails or text messages. Scammers often pose as senior authorities asking for personal information.
Airdrop scam
This type of scam is very popular in the field of decentralized finance. In an airdrop, scammers invest or transfer certain cryptos in individual accounts. Such tokens are shown as rewards on your digital wallets. As an investor, you provide access to scammers to access your entire wallet. It will allow scammers to gain complete control and access to private keys.
Cryptocurrency and social media do not go hand-in-hand. Yes, all social media handles may be used to gain knowledge about the industry. But, you also need to understand that cryptos need a thorough understanding. Before you start investing in any crypto, ensure that have complete knowledge. Ensure that you invest only when you are ready.