Here is a Cryptocurrency Scammer List of 2023

Although the value of stolen crypto is astounding, not everything is about money. In 2018, Mashable examined the largest crypto scams of 2021. Yes, substantial funds were channeled through the scams and schemes on that list. Nevertheless, the daring and originality of some of these scams and hacks — committed by individuals who only walk away with six figures worth of stolen cryptocurrency — are occasionally noteworthy.

So, without further ado, here is the largest and most audacious cryptocurrency scammer list from 2023 thus far.

What are Crypto Scams?

 

Scams using cryptocurrencies are quite similar to other types of financial fraud, with the exception that the scammers target your digital tokens rather than your cash.

Scammers in the cryptocurrency market use many of the same techniques that are used in the financial sector, such as pump-and-dump schemes, which make exaggerated claims about an asset’s worth to convince unsuspecting investors to buy it, and outright theft of digital currency.

Wealth adviser and director of technology and cybersecurity for Halbert Hargrove, Shane Cummings, says this latter type of scam might involve hacking into a user’s cryptocurrency wallet or convincing an investor to deliver digital assets as payment for a fraudulent transaction.

The purpose of these attacks is to get the victim to reveal sensitive information or send the attacker money or valuable digital assets such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

According to Chengqi “John” Guo, a professor of computing information systems and business analytics at James Madison University, “as an instrument, crypto scams are particularly appealing to nefarious agents who enjoy cryptocurrency’s swift conversion to fiat money, ready-to-use third-party transaction applications, and rich obfuscation techniques.”

 

Types of Crypto Scams

Here are some types of crypto scams.

1. Bitcoin Investment Scams

Scammers contact people who want to invest in bitcoin and say they are experienced “investment managers.” As part of the scam, the so-called investment managers claim to have made millions by investing in cryptocurrency and promise their victims that they will also make money by investing.

The scammers ask for money up front to get started. Then, instead of making money, the thieves just take the money that was paid up front. Scammers may also ask for personal information by saying it’s needed for transferring or depositing funds. This gives them access to a person’s cryptocurrency.

Fake celebrity endorsements are used in another type of investment scam. Scammers put real photos on fake accounts, ads, or articles to make it look like a famous person is promoting a big financial gain from an investment. The sources for these claims seem to be real because they use well-known company names like ABC or CBS and have websites and logos that look professional. However, the endorsement is bogus.

2. Axie Infinity Scams: $615 Million was Stolen

Would you notice if $615 million was stolen from you? Sky Mavis, the developer of the most popular cryptocurrency game, Axie Infinity, did not.

In March, hackers identified a vulnerability in the Ronin blockchain, the Ethereum-based sidechain on which Axie Infinity operates. In addition, the vulnerability was a result of a reported temporary adjustment that Sky Mavis implemented in December that decreased security protocols. A few months later, the hackers were able to take advantage of the circumstance because the situation had not been reversed.

How did Sky Mavis find that hundreds of millions of dollars were missing? A user attempted to withdraw funds but was unable to since there was no longer sufficient liquidity.

Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn cryptocurrency game that needs gamers to acquire pricey NFTs before to playing. After acquiring these NFTs, players can earn fiat currency in the form of cryptocurrency by playing the game. Due to the high cost of entrance, however, users who cannot afford the NFTs frequently become entangled in exploitative “scholarships” that force them to divide the profits with other users who give out these expensive NFTs.

However, in nations such as the Philippines, play-to-earn games like as Axie Infinity have become popular because users can earn the equivalent of their country’s average salary. Unfortunately, these consumers discovered that their earnings were inaccessible owing to the attack.

Since then, Axie Infinity has raised $125 million to compensate its users for cash that were stolen. However, this is a fraction of the $625 million they lost. As for that money, they will probably never receive it back. The United States government believes the breach was carried out by a North Korean organization.

3. The Social Engineering Scams

Most cryptocurrency detectives today use the umbrella phrase “social engineering” to describe their work. However, because the con artist has spent so much time gaining the target’s trust, the victim may not immediately recognize this as a fraud. To commit social engineering, one must assume a false identity and deceive a target into parting with their money.

This con artist fabricates an online persona, usually in the guise of a famous person, and uses it to lure unsuspecting victims. This encourages the target to continue interacting with the perpetrator after the scam has been detected. Scammers socially engineer their victims into trusting them so that they will send them money for “help,” “investment,” or “business” prospects. Sometimes this is done through romance.

Scammers use social engineering to trick potential cryptocurrency investors into clicking on malicious links. These malicious links usually entice their targets with a false promise of financial gain before leading them to a scam cryptocurrency investment page. Keep in mind that not everyone you meet online is who they claim to be. Also, not all links are reliable. Do your homework and only quote a credible source when quoting an exchange rate.

4. The Romance Scams

The con artist in a romance scam, like the con artist in a social engineering scam, earns the trust of the victim by appealing to their emotions. You can accomplish this through any number of online channels, including dating and social networking sites. The next step is for the con artist to create a false financial emergency or investment opportunity.

The victim is duped into thinking they are aiding their “newfound love” or enhancing the scammer’s wealth by sending them cryptocurrency or hard currency. This type of romantic scam has the potential to ruin a person’s life completely, from stealing their life savings to robbing them of their inheritance. It’s sad, but the scammer’s purpose, if it begins with online flirtation, is usually to win the victim’s heart and then use them for their own gain.

5.Donors are Repelled by Ukraine Rug

One of these cons is not like the others, and that is when the Ukrainian government swindled its donors. Nonetheless, it must be included since it is so exceptional: a rare “good” hoax.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian government swiftly decided to accept cryptocurrency donations in order to take advantage of the deep pockets in the crypto field who are always eager to pump their coins and generate positive headlines.

After Ukraine announced an airdrop for people who donated via the Ethereum network, a flood of cryptocurrency began to stream in. An airdrop is essentially when crypto wallet owners receive free gifts, typically in the form of crypto tokens or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to Ukraine, they were sending donors a “reward” for their contributions.

Just days after it was announced, Ukraine decided to cancel the airdrop. Some contributors seeking these profits yelled “scam” Moreover, this is formally termed as a rug pull. A rug pull occurs when a developer of a cryptocurrency makes promises to gather cash, abandons the project, and walks away with all the liquidity.

But, this circumstance is absolutely exceptional. Ukraine was attempting to gather funds, believed they would thank well-intentioned donations, and then pulled the plug when they saw people were using the situation. However, the contributions went to a philanthropic cause. So, let’s call this a permanent rug pull. Therefore, it is at the top of the list.

Enter the actors of evil faith. To take advantage of the airdrop, a wave of bitcoin donations were sent to Ukraine. In less than 2 days, about 60,00 transactions were conducted on the Ethereum blockchain in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian officials, people began sending miniscule amounts of money in order to register in time for the airdrop. Supposedly, these individuals sought to benefit from a war-torn nation by receiving a “prize” more valuable than the amount of money they contributed in order to sell the free item for a quick profit.

6.Someone Stole Seth Green’s Bored Ape

The apes of actor Seth Green were stolen. After falling victim to a phishing scam in May, the creator of Robot Chicken had his entire NFT collection stolen. Green’s NFT losses included his Bored Ape Yacht Club #8398, two Mutant Apes, which is another NFT creation by Yuga Labs, and a Doodle NFT.

However, as you can see, Green lost significantly more than the anticipated hundreds of thousands of dollars in resale value of his NFTs. The actor has been working on the White Horse Tavern comedy series, which contains numerous NFT characters throughout. Fred Simian, also known as Bored Ape #8398, is the protagonist of the series.

Bored Ape owners own a license to the intellectual property for their particular apes and can do whatever they want with them: sell merchandise, make video games, produce a sitcom, etc. This was Green’s dilemma. Whoever took his Bored Ape sold it on the secondary market to a collector, meaning that Seth Green no longer had the rights to Fred Simian.

Bored Ape owners own a license to the intellectual property for their particular apes and can do whatever they want with them: sell merchandise, make video games, produce a sitcom, etc. This was Green’s dilemma. Whoever took his Bored Ape sold it on the secondary market to a collector, meaning that Seth Green no longer had the rights to Fred Simian.

Fortunately, Green was recently able to get his Bored Ape back…at a cost of $297,000. That is correct. He paid double the six-figure amount for his Bored Ape.

If you’re familiar with the non-fungible token market, you may be thinking that NFTs are frequently stolen. In fact, Yuga Labs’ social media networks were compromised this month, causing Bored Ape holders to lose more than Seth Green.

Why therefore emphasis on Green’s case? I cannot think of another NFT-related scam that highlights the industry’s many weaknesses this year. In a crypto fraud, a celebrity had their NFTs and intellectual property stolen, and they did not know what to do. In the end, they were forced to purchase their stolen goods back. What are you going to do if this occurs to you as well?

7. BBC Duped into Endorsing a Purported Cryptocurrency Fraudster

Everyone enjoys rags-to-riches tales. Apparently, the BBC was so enamored with this story that they neglected to conduct a thorough background check on the man in issue, who became wealthy through crypto fraud.

In February, the BBC published a report about Hanad Hassan, a Birmingham-based cryptocurrency investor. The article claimed that Hassan invested £50 in cryptocurrency last year and turned it into millions! That’s not everything. The article also described how Hassan intended to use his newly acquired fortune to benefit the community.

The internet was rife with allegations that Hassan had defrauded them.

Hassan released Orfano, a “charity token,” in April 2021. In addition to being an investment in cryptocurrency, 3 percent of the cash would be put aside to assist charitable organizations. This is a frequent approach used by crypto scammers to convince investors that they are investing in something legitimate and worthwhile. Later on, Orfano abruptly ceased operations, taking everyone’s assets with it. There was no withdrawal option available for users.

A month later, Hassan relaunched Orfano as OrfanoX and repeated the same strategy with new token investors. And now the BBC would announce his “good fortune!”

The story is so absurd that David Gerard, a cryptocurrency critic and author of the book “Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain,” submitted it to me as one of the first. According to Gerard, not only did the BBC publish a puff piece about the crypto fraudster Hanad Hassan, but they also made a 30-minute documentary titled We Are England: Birmingham’s Self-Made Crypto-Millionaire. The February broadcast was canceled only hours before it was scheduled to run.

Hassan’s crypto-related fraud occurred in 2021, yet he deceived the BBC this year. In essence, he deceived them into spreading his lie. A fraud within a fraud. Scamception!

9.Phishing Scam

Swindlers have long favored phishing schemes. Fraudsters intend to gain access to your account information, including your cryptographic keys. Any crypto user is aware that whoever controls the key controls all the crypto.

Scammers who engage in phishing will frequently entice you to click on a link to a bogus website so they can steal your account information. They can pose as well-known firms, such as Amazon or your bank, utility companies, or even government authorities, and may contact you personally or post links on social media.

For instance, they may notify you by email or text message that a withdrawal has been launched and provide a link to reject the transaction.

Cummings explains, “The link leads to a bogus website that harvests the investor’s account details, allowing fraudsters to get in and withdraw funds.”

As actor and film producer Seth Green discovered earlier this year when four of his Bored Ape NFTs were stolen, anyone can fall victim to a phishing scheme, and any digital asset can be the target.

How to Spot Crypto Scams

Scams involving cryptocurrencies can be easily identified with the right knowledge and tools. Cryptocurrencies that are legitimate will have full disclosure available, including specifics on their blockchain and tokens.

Examine the White Paper

There is a progression in the evolution of cryptocurrencies. Before this happens, a document called a white paper is usually published for the public to read, detailing the protocols, blockchain, outlining the formulas, and explaining how the whole network will function. It is not the case with fake cryptocurrencies, whose creators instead issue “white papers” that are badly written, contain numbers that don’t add up, fail to explain how the currency will be utilized, or give any other impression of being a real white paper.

Determine Team Members

The members and developers of the cryptocurrency should be named in the white paper. For privacy reasons, open-source crypto projects may not always list their contributors. This is par for the course with open-source. Github and GitLab host much of the project’s source code, comments, and debates. When working on a project, some people prefer to have discussions through online forums or chat programs like Discord. White papers full of errors and which lack any of these red flags are almost certainly fraudulent.

Search for “Free” Items

There are many cryptocurrency scams that promise to “drop” funds into your wallet or that give free coins. It’s important to keep in mind that money and cryptocurrency are never really free.

Investigate the Marketing

In most cases, investing in cryptocurrency is not a good way to make money. They’re projects that aim to accomplish something specific, and their currencies or tokens are meant to facilitate the operation of the blockchain. Legitimate cryptocurrency initiatives won’t promote themselves as the next big thing on social media.

Cryptocurrency updates might mention blockchain improvements or new security measures, but you should be careful of claims like “$14 million raised” or messages that seem to care more about making money than advancing the technology behind crypto.

The blockchain is being put to use by respectable service providers. Despite the fact that their blockchains may make use of tokens for the payment of transaction fees, the marketing surrounding these tokens needs to look more legitimate. They will have the resources to invest in high-profile sponsorships and public appearances, and they will publish comprehensive guides on their websites. The goal of these companies is not to sell cryptocurrency, but rather to promote the use of blockchain technology in their respective industries.