Certainly, the rapidly changing state of the cryptocurrency market has changed the way things are done. For example, there is a rise in technological innovation and the emergency of new crypto investment markets.
However, fraudsters have invaded this space and are capitalizing on the ignorant. Here we take a look at five Bitcoin investment scams you should be aware of.
Here we go:
1. Impersonation of popular businesses or government authorities
Of late, there has been a rise in the number of fraudsters impersonating prominent businesses or government authorities. As a result, a few people have unknowingly transferred their Bitcoin assets to them. For instance, several individuals have sent their investments to scammers pretending to work for the Social Security Administration. Similarly, other people have been lured into paying imposters masquerading as popular businesses such as Coinbase.
If not addressed, such scams can skyrocket soon since the crypto market is growing exponentially. This calls for utmost vigilance.
2. Online Dating
Funny as it may sound; online dating constitutes one of the leading Bitcoin investment scams. Here scammers can use it as bait to draw you in. And once they establish trust with you, they would then convenience you to join a new bitcoin investment scheme. Thereafter, ditch you, and disappear with your money.
As an example, the FTC has a list of investors who have lost substantial sums in believing that they were in long-distance relationships.
3. Give away scams
A majority of these scams are perpetrated through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In most cases, the scammers will impersonate prominent personalities or thought leaders in the crypto world. Thus, promise to multiply your digital assets if you sent it to them.
If you fall for such, you’ll be sending your Bitcoins to a fraudster’s wallet. An example of such is the infamous Elon Musk give-aways in which investors lost significant sums of money.
4. Fraudulent websites
When new to crypto investment, high chances are that you can be easily lured by fake websites advertising opportunities for mining or investing Bitcoins. They entail one of the leading Bitcoin investment scams.
One of the primary attributes of these sites is that they would fake your investment growth. However, the scammers would tell you to send more cash if you attempted to withdraw your “profits”. At the end, you lose all your investment.
5. Pyramid schemes
In the course of scouting through the net for crypto investment advice, you’ll most likely stumble upon referral links to pyramid schemes. These Ponzi schemes usually work by promising you returns upon bringing in more investors. Besides, pledge that you’ll earn more if you invest more money.
In the end, everyone loses except the scammers when the pyramid scheme collapses, or when the fraudsters decide to vanish with everyone’s money.
Final thoughts
Currently, Bitcoin investment scams have become commonplace, especially in the digital world. As such, you can quickly lose your precious digital assets to scammers. This calls for a thorough vetting of your would-be cryptocurrency investment platform to avoid losses.
Nonetheless, you can contact us if you get scammed. We can guarantee 100 percent recovery of your crypto assets. If and only if you provide us will all that’s needed—for example, the hashes used on the call off transaction before your funds were stolen.