When we are talking about Cryptocurrency, it is evident that Bitcoin is inclusive of it. Bitcoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrency coins, and a massive population is investing in it. However, by the start of 2020, the experts reported the boom in Cryptocurrency, and some common types of bitcoin scams had also started taking place. 

This blog will cover how these bitcoin scams are taking place and what scams have been spotted in recent years.

What is Bitcoin, and how is it related to Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin share the relationship of a parent-child. Bitcoin has two other siblings, namely Tether & Ether. Cryptocurrency is a digital investment medium, whereas Bitcoin, Tether, and Ether are digital currencies. Investors have the advantage of crypto wallets, which can reserve all their holdings. 

Cryptocurrency is versatile because of its decentralized approach to monitoring bitcoin and other digital currencies. There is no interference from the government or the public. It is implemented by a software known as cryptography that is transferable from node to node. Apart from this, the transaction in market is measured under blockchain, and public ledger is issued in different nodes. 

How are bitcoin scams performed?

It is a broad topic to discuss. But some types of bitcoin scams are performed rigorously to dupe people. A bitcoin scam is like a sweet box; you never know which one you will get. Over 7000 cases have been reported of crypto theft, with a combined amount of $ 80million stolen between October 2020 and March 2021. These are the cases based on a true story. So let’s have a look. 

Bitcoin Imposter:

This case is from Las Vegas, where the victim got a message via text and Telegram. Here the fake partner is asking the victim to send $500000 worth of Bitcoin and an additional fee of $50000. The scammer has introduced himself as his associate; hence she found nothing to raise a doubt. So, without any second thought, she did what was asked of her. But she never received the cash. 

Then, she runs into the real associate to ask for money. It came out that the real associate had no clue about what happened and ended up being in shock. It is a massive loss. However, it is one of the rarest cases with such an amount; otherwise, no such cases have been reported earlier. 

Fake bitcoin investing scams

As there is no government interference in Cryptocurrency, it sounds appealing to enthusiasts. Bitcoin is abstract in two ways; first, it is a virtual currency; secondly, the holding is saved under crypto wallets, so the calculations become easy. 

We agree that there are several benefits to investors, but at the same time, scammers are also benefited. For instance, they can create a fake crypto website and targets newbies to invest in the crypto. They will advertise if they want to gain a quick buck. It is the right platform. It was a real case in Australia in 2017. 

The man has identified an Instagram advertisement to make 50% from bitcoin mining. So he invested and got 30% of it. The Instagram page and followers look reliable, and the page seems authentic. 

Later on, he shared his experience with some close ones. They have invested a combined amount of $20,000. But, the account got deactivated, and thus, the scammer. It is a hard slap on his face. This type of Bitcoin scam comes under the category of Ponzi style. 

Bitcoin giveaway fraud:

The news was out in July 2020, when all the celebrities and famous personalities worldwide promoted Bitcoin giveaways from their Twitter handles. One of the prominent personalities of America has put it on the Twitter platform. The content was structured like ‘I am giving back to the community due to Covid-19’. You can all send your bitcoin to the address given below. I will double the amount. For example, if you send $1000 of Bitcoin, you will receive back $2000. 

Shockingly, many more well-known people have conveyed the same post. Later they knew that it was a part of unethical twitter practices and hacks used by these scammers to mislead the public. On this, the CEO of Twitter has commented, ‘it is a tough day for social media platforms. 

Elon Musk is an enthusiast of Cryptocurrency, but in the year 2021, there was a rumor that Tesla was mining their crypto. But, after investigation, the authorities found that it was an investment fraud that had already captured $2 million in Cryptocurrency. 

Crypto Romance scam:

It is a traditional way to turn down the potential victim, but every time they come up with an exclusive way to trick the public. As we all know, a romance scam is the easiest way of catching a fish from the pond. 

The same incident happened on social media when a boy met a girl (undisclosed name). They regularly talked, listened to one another, and solved each other’s problems. Everything was going great. But one day, the girl showed interest in talking about crypto and how her uncle is an expert investor. She told him that there was a tip that I had received if he wanted, you could use it. So although the boy is interested in love, he developed some interest in crypto. 

Listening to her, he has invested $3000 on one of the websites. The gameplay was started, and it was a con. Long story short, the girl has persuaded him to invest more and more, and in a few days, he earns $ 1 million in value. 

One day the girl asked for his tax payments to the department of homeland Security instead of the Internal Revenue Services. He got suspicious when he tried to withdraw the money he could not. By then, he learned it was a long con where he lost approximately $2,80,000. 

7 Spotted Bitcoin Scams

The 7 spotted bitcoin scams include 

High & Guaranteed returns

We request our readers to understand that if any crypto website is providing you guaranteed returns and claiming high-term promises. It is the only way where scammers attract money by just putting in fake promises. People often indulge in activities that are technically never going to meet their expectations. Hence, it is best to analyze the situation and then go for it. 

Marketing & promotional offers

It does look odd when a crypto website manages marketing at a hardcore level and brings many promotional offers. But unfortunately, fraudsters also have a team of experts that can easily fool people. They create hoardings and outdoors so that people get attracted to them. 

If you ever notice, an authentic and reliable crypto platform never entertains its users with all of this stuff. If they overdo it, you can get suspicious of it. 

Vague team members

It is a bitter truth that scammers dupe people badly. In any business or investment firm, we search for the people who are running it, what their backgrounds are or what are their social media handles. Right? But these fraudsters perform bitcoin scams so that people can find their background and everything, but the reality is it is unnamed, vague, or even non-existent team members. It means they are using fake profiles to attract money. 

Sometimes people get impressed; not only the general public but investors are trapped in such attempts.

Whitepaper & Cryptocurrency

The whitepaper is the right hand of Initial coin offerings (ICO). It will help you know how a cryptocurrency project is designed, how it will thrive, and how one earns money from it. 

Suppose you are reading a white paper that does not make sense to you. You can act smart and move out from these people because they are trying to manipulate your idea of investing by showing fake crypto. However, if there is no whitepaper, the investment is not worth it. 

No published code

A legitimate cryptocurrency unit believes in transparency. Therefore, they post it publicly so people can read and edit it. Although many people do not know how to read codes, they can see them. 

Bitcoin scams are noted when these scammers do not showcase their published codes. It means that such firms are fake and investing there is a mistake. 

Investing packages

The investors might receive the message to invest a sustainable amount of money to get daily returns, but these returns are unsustainable. We would request all the investors to go through the papers, gain some knowledge and then invest in it with all their brains, as such practices will result in losing money and trust. It hampers the legitimate cryptocurrency market as well. 

Conclusion:

Here is what needs to be known. We allocate all this information to spread awareness of our power. If you ever face being in this situation, there is an online platform for you. Visit Financial Fund Recovery for all your doubts and fully use their services to recover your lost funds. Stay tuned for more informative blogs.