Cybersecurity firms have identified an exponential surge in the cryptocurrency-related scams that occurred in the first half of this year. Researchers identified 23,000 websites involved with crypto scams that are still active and are targeting new victims in Russia. According to the Kommersant report, which cited research from Kaspersky Labs, the problem is three times greater than during the same period last year. The cybersecurity firms identified different types of crypto scams going around online. Crypto scams have increased amid the ongoing pandemic all over the world.
Crypto scammers lure in investors by making false promises.
Researchers identified scams involving victims offered the chance to complete surveys in order to receive commissions — however they’re required to pay an “entrance fee” fee first. Qrator Labs identified another scam that involved sites that offered victims more than $275 per hour to mine cryptocurrencies via their unused computing power, but they never delivered the payments. The crypto mining scammers also asked for a fixed payment from victims to go up in the ‘rankings’ of a membership system. The more expensive the membership, the more the victim is supposed to earn.
Crypto scams continue to rise amid the ongoing pandemic.
Scams related to cryptocurrency have increased around the world amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning saying scammers might be looking to unleash a surge in crypto-related scams. Several countries also reported a surge in cryptocurrency scams that included a spike in ransomware attacks, Ponzi schemes, and other different types of scams involving cryptocurrencies.
There are several types of crypto scams that have become frequent including, fake giveaways, sextortion, fake exchanges, fake ICO’s, bitcoin recovery, video scams, Ponzi schemes, and the list goes on. Earlier, accounts of several famous people on Twitter were hacked to solicit bitcoins from their followers.
