Cryptocurrency Scams List [year]

If there’s money to be had, scammers will use all means to take it from you, and cryptocurrencies aren’t spared; this is why, in this article, we will provide you with a cryptocurrency scams list.

In fact, they’re a primary target for scammers who maximise on the nascent technology and the public’s lack of know-how with cryptocurrencies to position themselves as leaders or experts in the space and earn trust.

Cryptocurrencies have become a popular means of payment and investment, and as a result, scammers are taking advantage of inexperienced and unsuspecting crypto users to steal their hard-earned cash.

Let’s explore the most common cryptocurrency scams and discover some expert-proven tips on how to sidestep falling victim to them.

You can protect your cryptocurrency investments by understanding these scams and taking the required precautions. Let’s find out more. Also, punters might be interested in our article discussing is cryptocurrency gambling legal.

Fake Crypto Exchanges and Crypto Wallets

Fake crypto exchanges and wallets occur in various types. Phishing is the first one. This scam type takes place when you get an unsolicited email that poses as if it is from your crypto exchange service provider. 

The email contains a link that transports you to a platform that looks almost the same as the wallet or exchange you’re familiar with but is actually a scam site.

The scammers have all the information they require to access your account and steal money as long as you use your crypto wallet or account details on this unofficial platform.

Here is a list of fake Crypto exchanges:

Be cautious of fake cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets that appear legitimate but are designed to steal your money. These scammers often lure crypto users with offers of too-good-to-be-true promotions and rewards.

Some platforms pressure users into opening accounts and making large deposits, promising bonuses in return. Once they have your funds, they charge excessive fees and make it difficult to withdraw, eventually stealing your deposits.

Scammers also create fake apps that, when downloaded, can access sensitive account information. These apps may appear in official app stores like Google Play, so it’s important to research before downloading any app to your mobile device.

Risky Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Crypto users and investors often turn to specialized exchange platforms to convert traditional currencies like dollars and pounds into cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin.

These platforms also allow users to trade one cryptocurrency for another, like Dogecoin for Bitcoin, or convert digital assets back into fiat currency.

Many crypto exchange platforms are centralized firms that match buyers and sellers of digital assets. They typically charge fees or commissions for their services.

Similar to online banks, these exchanges accept customer deposits, offer loans to third parties, and profit from the difference in interest rates.

While these platforms market themselves as convenient and secure ways to trade digital assets, using them can be risky—especially when dealing with unsafe exchanges.

What Makes an Exchange Risky?

Risky exchanges often prioritize their own interests over their customers. These platforms tend to exploit unsuspecting users and steal their funds.

Many risky crypto exchanges are based in countries with lax regulations, making it difficult for authorities to investigate fraud or suspicious activities.

These decentralized exchanges are not registered as depository institutions, money transmitters, or securities brokers.

They may not disclose how they handle your digital assets and have been known to freeze or interrupt withdrawals without explanation.

Challenges in Identifying and Dealing with Risky Exchanges

It’s hard to track the wallets of these exchanges on the blockchain, and they tend to have little to no online presence, making them even more difficult to trust.

The operators of these exchanges are often bad actors, and if they are under financial strain, they may refuse to return your digital assets, leaving you at risk of losing your investment.

Even if an exchange starts off legitimate but later becomes risky, you may find yourself in the unfortunate position of being an unsecured creditor, potentially losing everything without recourse.

To protect yourself, always choose exchanges with a strong reputation, transparent operations, and regulatory compliance.

How Scammers Can Drain Your Crypto Wallet

Scammers can use multiple techniques to drain your crypto wallet. Some attacks depend on social engineering – deploying tricks to get cryptocurrency users to reveal their seed phrases and passwords or sniffing around for sensitive personal information. 

Other techniques simply require knowing a crypto user’s wallet address. Many crypto attacks are social engineering. Crypto users are being lured to a certain platform, and they are requested to connect their wallets. Once they connect, transactions pop up, and their funds are gone.

Social Media Crypto Giveaway Scams

Many cryptocurrency scams originate on social media, especially Instagram and Twitter. Nearly half of the victims who report losing assets say it starts with a message, post, or ad on these platforms.

The most common scam is social media crypto giveaways. Scammers impersonate celebrities to lure users in. Clicking on these giveaways leads victims to fraudulent platforms asking for verification to receive crypto.

Typically, the verification process involves making a deposit to prove the account is real. Victims may lose their deposit or have sensitive information and crypto stolen through malicious links.

Another scam involves blue-checked accounts. Since Twitter’s acquisition, any Twitter Blue subscriber can get a blue check for €8, making it hard to verify an account’s authenticity.

Before engaging, always check the account’s verification status. Review posts, follower count, and activity. New accounts with few followers promoting crypto are likely not legitimate.

YouTube is another platform where crypto scams are common. Scammers create fake livestreams, often using stolen content, to promote giveaways. These links usually lead to phishing attempts or encourage users to send crypto for “investment.”

To avoid scams, check the channel’s history, including video count and when it started. Be cautious of new channels with only a few videos.

Rug Pull Scams

DeFi and NFTs are especially susceptible to rug pull scams. As a type of exit scam, a rug pull takes advantage of the fact that DeFi eliminates the intermediaries involved in transactions with the ease of creating a brand-new token.

Scammers can easily create a cryptocurrency token and then get it listed on a decentralised exchange platform without having to go through any type of code audit or background check. 

Over 110,000 scam tokens have been created, stealing billions of pounds from unskilled and unsuspecting crypto users. In most cases, freshly listed cryptocurrencies soar in price, and enthusiastic investors may use filters such as “top gainers” or “recently added” to filter for new and hot coins without researching the projects.

After discovering the prices have been picked, the founders disappear with the investor’s funds, leaving holders with nothing.

In the non-fungible tokens space, scammers create whole collections that knock off or copy a popular collection to attract susceptible purchasers. Scammers use fake plays on legitimate collections to defraud purchasers by promising goodies before disappearing with huge amounts of money.

How to Avoid Crypto Scams and Protect Your Crypto

Let’s look at some expert-proven ways to avoid scams:

Keep your wallet secure: Store your crypto in a self-hosted wallet, and never share private keys with anyone.

Too good to be true offers: Crypto scammers, in most cases, make false promises about investment earnings that are unrealistic. There is no free money, so, don’t take advantage of any get-rich-quick rip-offs. They’re always scams; avoid them.

Be cautious of social media hypes: Crypto scammers often take advantage of social media to popularise their latest scams and present them as investment opportunities. Be worried about any advertisements that use images of high-profile people or celebrities in an effort to make their investments seem legitimate.  

Urgent investment opportunities: Always do your due diligence and take time to research all options available to you before you can accept an investment opportunity. Only make informed decisions, and you’ll be able to sidestep crypto scams.

If you’ve fallen for a crypto scam and shared sensitive information, taking immediate action is advisable. The first thing you need to do is to contact your banking institution immediately, especially if you’ve shared any sensitive information or used your bank card.

They may retarget you or sell your information. That’s why you need to change your security details and passwords.