Amidst the ongoing economic turmoil reverberating from the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflict, scams have been trying to part people from their hard-earned money at a time when they can least afford to lose it. The crypto space, being international and only loosely regulated, is a current target of scammers, and all users, traders, and investors should stay informed of best practices and use only verified platforms.
A recent article titled Top-10 Ways to Spot a Crypto Scam is making waves on the net. The guide was released by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), an Australian regulator, and is intended as a public advisory document to highlight crypto scams during Scams Awareness Week 2022, a government initiative to inform its citizens about all kinds of cons.
According to ASIC, “investment scams” are on the rise in 2022, with cryptocurrencies becoming a significant part of this classic group of scams. The regulator identified three distinct categories of cryptocurrency scams:
- Investment scams claiming to offer opportunities to invest in a legitimate digital asset, but the exchange platform (app or website) turns out to be fake.
- Money laundering with fake crypto tokens.
- Using cryptocurrency to make fraudulent transactions.
With regard to the first point, scammers will often pressure their victims to send crypto to their websites. We’d like to remind all crypto traders and investors to never use apps that aren’t listed on the iOS App Store or Google Play!
