INTRODUCTION:
Bitcoin is a digital currency or the most popular type of cryptocurrency that documents transactions in a distributed register known as a Blockchain. The contributors of the Bitcoin market can purchase or sell the tokens through cryptocurrency exchanges. Although the Bitcoin ledger is protected against scams through a trust less system, certain cases of potential thefts and high-profile scams have been reported in the recent past.
- The viral nature of the internet has given rise to scams and people with evil intentions who take advantage of people by setting up methods like free giveaways of bitcoin in exchange for some personal details of the investor.
- ABOUT BITCOIN SCAMS:
Ever since its introduction in the year 2009, Bitcoin has been able to gain the attention of some stockholders and side by side some hackers as well. The scams of Bitcoin have followed the movement of the digital currency’s price patterns. As the Bitcoin price reached a new height the recurrence of such scams increased. Ever since Bitcoin gained the public attention of investors the potential hackers have shifted their plan of action to target the cryptocurrency wallets.
- Some of the top Bitcoin Scams:
The following Bitcoin scams have affected the ecosystem and infrastructure of Bitcoin in recent years.
- The Exchange and Wallet hack scams – In the past, cryptocurrency exchanges were the chief origin of crypto wealth for hackers but in recent times these hackers have shifted their attention to the online crypto wallet as well. In the year 2020, one such hack has taken place where the hackers stole a million customer email addresses by breaking through email and selling the databases for the ledger. The hackers not only stole customer details and email addresses but have also stolen some very personal information of more than 9,500 customers, they have also published the email addresses of 242000 customers on a website for hacked databases.
- The Social Media Scams – social media is a powerful and strong force among the present generation, its popularity has aligned the increased visibility of bitcoin billionaire in media conversations. Scammers have started using social media to target and attack Bitcoin holders. By creating fake and illegal accounts on social media, these hackers have hacked some popular Twitter accounts. A famous case that has occurred in the year 2020 was when the Twitter accounts that were owned by famous personalities and multinational companies were hacked. The accounts of some well-known personalities such as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet were hacked and companies like Apple and Uber faced major troubles too.
- The Social Engineering Scams – In social engineering scams the hackers usually use the technique of psychological manipulation on their targets and make them reveal vital information about their account.
- Phishing is one of the most widely known and used social engineering scams. In this method, the hackers send emails to investors that contain fraudulent links to a specially created website that will track the personal details such as bank account details of the targeted investor. Phishing scams target to capture information concerning their online wallets.
- Another popular Social engineering technique used by men with wrong intentions is to send the target Bitcoin blackmail emails. In such type of email, the hackers declare to have a record of adult websites that have been visited by the target most recently and they also threaten their target to expose such websites publicly unless the private details about their accounts are shared.
- The ICO scams – After the acute SEC crackdown, scams of such nature have reduced to some level but refused to die out totally. The scammers can separate investors from their bitcoin through several ways in an ICI scam. The hackers create a fake website that is similar to the initial coin offerings and they command the users to deposit coins into an adjusting wallet.
- Decentralized Finance which is also known by the name of DeFi, aims to circulate finance by detaching gatekeepers for financial deals.
CONCLUSION:
The environment of cryptocurrency is identified by thin liquidity, some institutional dealers and investors but, it is also filled with hackers and scams. The investors of Bitcoin can increase their success rate by identifying these common scams and be conscious of them.
