Cryptocurrency investment scams are increasing day by day as many financial backers are looking forward to joining this trading world. The craze of digital currencies have led the investors to fall into the trap of scammers.
However, if you are a beginner and do not know much about these frauds, then it would be beneficial for you to gain some information regarding these scams and then step into the cryptocurrency trade. Let us have a look at these frauds and how you can avoid them:
1. Fake applications and websites
Nowadays, people are active on various social media platforms, apps, and websites. Whenever they want to know about anything, they search for it on the internet only. This is the reason why fraudsters thought of scamming the crypto investors by building fake websites. These websites and apps are mostly used by people to trade cryptocurrencies.
Fake websites look very similar to the real ones and that is why it is very tough to identify which one is the real one. Scammers will invite you to join their fake website by entering your personal data. This is how they steal your personal information.
Prior to putting away your cash on digital currency, it is fundamental for you to do your research. You need to guarantee that the exchanging platform you have decided to trade your digital coins for is reliable and reputed.
To find a trustworthy website for trading crypto, you have to look at the rating of the exchange on the web and read the online reviews posted by the users. You should also check https://www.okx.com to know about the current prices of different digital coins to avoid scams.
To ensure that the website is safe there are few things you need to observe. First is to look at the URL properly. The scammers generally make few changes in the URL of real websites to create the fake ones, which is why it is essential to identify the URL.
Other than this, to guarantee your safety, you need to ensure that the antivirus software is functioning properly whenever you visit any crypto related website. The antivirus software can detect unwanted activities that are happening in your laptop or computer.
2. Traditional hacking
Crypto markets have novel attributes as compared to other investment markets. Be that as it may, financial backers are still vulnerable to traditional scams like identity theft and account hacks. To exchange digital currency, financial backers need a crypto wallet, which can be a physical gadget or digital. These wallets have keys — both public and private.
Just as you should not share your Mastercard number with anyone, keep your private keys at some safe place. Fraudsters can utilize this data to hack accounts and pull out reserves — and they’ll utilize different techniques to uncover the private data of investors.
Be careful of crypto phishing messages that might act like a cryptocurrency exchange or wallet. Con artists frequently claim to be celebrities or partners of significant companies, promising ensured and prompt returns if you act rapidly in making investments. Ensure that you do verify the documents of such companies before taking any steps ahead.
3. Giveaway scams
We all admire gifts and purchasing products at discounted prices, isn’t that right? Giveaway tricks also work in the same manner. The tricksters arrange many giveaways on social media platforms where they offer you crypto coins free of cost.
To get the free digital coins, individuals share their personal data with the fraudsters and get caught. They are also asked to share the details of their crypto wallet so that the scammers can directly transfer the giveaway cryptocurrency into the wallet.
You might come across such giveaways on your social media but we would suggest you to not participate in such giveaways. Reject all the posts that claim to provide you free crypto coins otherwise you will get trapped by the scammers and the harsh truth is that you won’t get your digital coins back once they have been stolen.
4. Unwanted cryptocurrency investment schemes
In such scams, the hackers will spread the news about the fake token or coin on various social media stages such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so forth. They also use email to spread this message.
The traders hurry to purchase these tokens or coins in the fear of passing up a major opportunity. When such countless dealers purchase the tokens, their costs increment and this is the point at which the tricksters play their game. They sell the coins of the traders when the costs are high. It takes only a few minutes to execute such frauds.
5. DeFi projects
DeFi Cryptocurrency frauds happen with investors who are attracted towards the most recent or upcoming crypto projects. The developers of such projects guarantee an exceptionally brilliant future to people who will put resources into it.
Many Defi project scams have taken place recently and according to rumors, it has managed to steal about $2 million from the investors. To avoid such frauds, you need to guarantee that you check the project’s documentation cautiously.
6. Keeping the crypto wallet secure
You must have heard incidents of people who lost many Bitcoins because they were not able to keep their crypto wallet safe. If you own crypto coins, never share your private key or password with anybody.
We propose you store such private information at a place which is only accessible to you. Once you have forgotten or lost the private key, it is impossible for you to access your digital wallet.
To Sum Up
Scammers are developing different techniques and strategies that can help them to steal your private information and access your crypto wallets. Therefore, it becomes essential for you to be aware of such scams and steps that should be taken to avoid them. Remember, once you lose your digital coins, you cannot get them back at any cost.
