What you need to know about #cryptocurrencies and scams

How to avoid cryptocurrency scams

Scammers are always looking for ways to steal your money using #cryptocurrency. Here are some things to know to avoid a cryptocurrency scam.

• Only scammers demand payments in #cryptocurrency. No legitimately operating business is going to require you to send #cryptocurrency upfront, neither to buy something nor to protect your money. That is always a scam.

• Only scammers will guarantee profits or high returns. Do not trust people who promise you can make money quickly and easily in the #cryptocurrency market.

• Never mix online dating with investment advice. If you meet someone on a dating site or app, and then they want to teach you how to invest in #cryptocurrency, or ask you to send them #cryptocurrency, it is a scam.

Detect cryptocurrency-related scams

Scammers are using the same proven tactics, only now they are demanding payment in #cryptocurrency. Investment scams are one of the main ways that scammers use to trick you and convince you to buy #cryptocurrency and send it to the scammers. But scammers are also posing as business representatives, government agencies, romantic relationships, among other tactics.

Investment scams

In investment scams, they often promise you can "make a lot of money" with "zero risk," and these scams often start on social media or dating apps or sites. Of course, these scams also begin with a text message, email, or call. And in investment scams, #cryptocurrency plays a central role in two ways: it can be both for an investment and for payment.

Below are some common investment scams and how to detect them.

• A supposed “investment manager” contacts you unexpectedly. They promise to multiply your money, but only if you buy #cryptocurrency and transfer it to their online account. The investment website they direct you to seems real, but it is actually fake, just like their promises. If you log into your “investment account,” you won’t be able to withdraw your money at all, or you will only be able to do so if you pay high fees.

• A scammer impersonates a celebrity who can multiply the #cryptocurrencies you send them. But there is no famous person communicating with you through social media. It is a scammer. And if you click on an unexpected link they send you or if you send #cryptocurrency to a supposed celebrity's QR code, that money goes straight into the pocket of a scammer and disappears.

• A virtual “lover” wants you to send them money or #cryptocurrency to help them invest. That is a scam. As soon as someone you meet on a dating site or app asks you for money or offers investment advice, know that they are a scammer. The advice and offer to help you invest in #cryptocurrency are nothing but scams. If you send them #cryptocurrency, or any other form of money, it will disappear, and you will usually not recover it.

• Scammers guarantee that you will make money or promise you high guaranteed returns. No one can give you those guarantees. And much less in a short period of time. And when it comes to investments in #cryptocurrency, there is nothing that is “low risk.” So, if a company or person promises you profits, it is a scam. Even if they have endorsements from famous people or testimonials from happy investors. That is something that can be easily faked.

• Scammers promise free money. They will promise cash or free #cryptocurrency, but promises of free money are always false.

• Scammers make big claims without details or explanations. Whatever the investment, find out how it works and ask where your money will go. Honest investment managers or advisors will be willing to share that information and back it up with details.

Before investing in #cryptocurrency, do an online search by entering the name of the company or person and the name of the #cryptocurrency and add words like “review,” “scam,” or “complaint”; if you search in Spanish, replace those words with “comentario,” “estafa,” or “queja.” Read the opinions of other people. And read more about other common investment scams.

Business impersonators, government agencies, and job offers

In a scam perpetrated by people posing as representatives of businesses, government agencies, or job offers, the scammer pretends to be someone you trust to convince you to send them money by purchasing and sending #cryptocurrency.

• Scammers impersonate recognized companies. This occurs in waves, depending on the moment, and scammers might say they work for Amazon, Microsoft, FedEx, your bank, or others. This type of scammer will send you a text message, an email, or contact you by phone or through social media messages, or maybe place a pop-up alert on your computer. They might tell you that there has been fraud on your account, or that your money is at risk, and that to resolve the issue, you need to buy #cryptocurrency and send it to them. But that is a scam. If you click on a link in a message, respond to the call, or call the number that appears in the pop-up window, you will be communicating with a scammer.

• Scammers pose as representatives of new or established businesses offering fraudulent coins and tokens. They will say that the company is entering the cryptocurrency world and that they are issuing their own coin or virtual token. To support this argument and trick people into convincing them to buy that coin, they might post ads on social media, journalistic articles, or set up a fancy website. But those coins and tokens are a scam that ends up stealing money from the people who buy them. Research online to find out if a company has issued a coin or token. If true, it will be widely reported by established media.

• Scammers pose as representatives of government agencies, law enforcement, or utility companies. These scammers might tell you there is a legal issue, that you owe money, or that as a result of an investigation, they have frozen your accounts or benefits. They tell you to resolve the issue or protect your money by buying #cryptocurrency. They may tell you to send it to a specific wallet address for your “protection and custody.” There have even been cases where scammers stay on the phone while they instruct a person to go to a cryptocurrency ATM and give step-by-step instructions to insert the money and convert it into #cryptocurrency. Then they instruct them to send the #cryptocurrency by scanning a specific QR code, through which the payment goes directly to the scammer's virtual wallet, and then, it disappears.

• Scammers post fake job listings on employment websites. They might even send unsolicited job offers related to #cryptocurrency to help recruit investors, sell or mine #cryptocurrency, or help convert cash into cryptocurrencies. But these supposed “jobs” only become a reality if you pay a fee in #cryptocurrency. Which is always, but always, a scam. As your first task in your “job,” these scammers send you a check to deposit into your bank account. (Before long, it will be discovered that the check was fake.) They will tell you to withdraw part of that money, use it to buy #cryptocurrency for a made-up “client,” and send the #cryptocurrency to an account they specify. But if you do, the money will disappear, and you will have to pay that money back to the bank.

To avoid business impersonators, government agencies, and job offers, you need to know the following:

• No legitimate business or government agency will ever send you an email, text message, or social media message asking for money. And they will never demand that you buy #cryptocurrency or pay with virtual currency.

• Never click on a link from an unexpected text message or email or one you received through social media messages, even if it seems to come from a company you know.

• Do not pay anyone who unexpectedly contacts you and demands payment in #cryptocurrency.

• Never pay a fee to get a job. If someone asks you to pay upfront to get a job or tells you to buy a #cryptocurrency as part of a job, it is a scam.