It seems that the ways in which people scam others are innovating faster than even technology. The recent rise in cryptocurrency has led to well, the emergence of cryptocurrency scams. Given the uncertainty and volatile nature of the currency, many investors get confused and these confused investors are susceptible to scams that promise a big increase in their cryptocurrency without any effort on the investor’s part. Sounds too good to true but people still fall for these. Some are even impersonating celebrities like Elon Musk.
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, “scammers are cashing in on the buzz around cryptocurrency and luring people into bogus investment opportunities in record numbers”. Reports show the since October 2020, almost 7000 people have reported having lost over $80 million to scams. It seems scammers are using every trick in the book as they’re even impersonating Elon Musk to squeeze people out of every bitcoin they have.
Reports by the FTC show that people have lost around $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over the last six months. Cryptocurrency is seen as an investment now and due to the recent increase in prices of bitcoin, many people want to have a slice of the crypto cake. And this is exactly where the scammers come in. Some scams pledge to instantly multiply the cryptocurrency that people invest while showing fake backing by a celebrity and in most cases, the celebrity is Elon Musk.
Many people are targeted by fake websites that claim to help invest in cryptocurrency. Some scammers target people by pretending to share tips while getting people to invest in their pyramid schemes. According to the FTC, “Sites use fake testimonials and cryptocurrency jargon to appear credible, but promises of enormous, guaranteed returns are simply lies. These websites may even make it look like your investment is growing. But people report that, when they try to withdraw supposed profits, they are told to send even more crypto — and end up getting nothing back”.
There’s no sure-fire way to dodge these scammers. Only research and a keen sense of intuition can help you. If a deal or offer seems too good to be true then 99.99% of the time it is a scam.
The FTC also gave out some advice, saying that “promises of guaranteed huge returns or claims that your cryptocurrency will be multiplied are always scams”. They also advised people to be cautious of any callers, organizations, even your ex-girlfriend, or anyone else who insists on forcing you to invest in crypto while touting big returns.
Don’t trust anyone you don’t know on the internet. You can’t expect a big return on your investment without proper market research. Also, Elon Musk isn’t going to help you triple your bitcoins.