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<p>Every day, <strong>cyber criminals</strong> try to gain users&#8217; trust in order to get hold of their money. How to recognize such a threat and not lose your funds?.</p>



<p>Fraudsters posing as <strong>Tesla </strong>and <strong>SpaceX </strong>CEO <strong>Elon Musk</strong> stole more than $ 2 million in <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>in October 2020 &#8211; March 2021. <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/data-spotlight/2021/05/cryptocurrency-buzz-drives-record-investment-scam-losses#end2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This follows from the report of the <strong>US Federal Trade Commission</strong> (<strong>FTC</strong>), published in May</a>.</p>



<p> In total, since October 2020, approximately 7 thousand people have told the FTC that they have transferred $ 80 million to <strong>crypto scammers</strong>.</p>



<p>There are several ways that <strong>criminals </strong>actively use. Let&#8217;s talk about the main ones and how not to give your funds to <strong>cyber criminals</strong>.</p>



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<p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>Fake giveaways and Steve Wozniak</strong></p>



<p><br>One of the popular <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>fraud schemes is fake <strong>digital coin</strong> giveaways. Attackers are taking advantage of the fact that many people want to get <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>for free. </p>



<p>In <strong>social networks</strong>, forums and other sources of information, scammers post announcements that they are ready to double the amount that the investor will send to their <strong>wallet</strong>. However, they do not send the <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>back.</p>



<p>In 2020, Apple co-founder <strong>Steve Wozniak</strong> was involved in such a fraudulent scheme. Scammers used his name to <strong>attract victims</strong>. </p>



<p>The <strong>attackers </strong>posted videos on <strong>YouTube </strong>in which they convinced users to send <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>to a specific <strong>address</strong>, promising to send twice as much in return.</p>



<p>The businessman filed a lawsuit against <strong>YouTube</strong>, but his claim was dismissed with reference to <strong>US federal law</strong>, according to which <strong>Internet platforms</strong> are not responsible for content posted by users.</p>



<p> The <strong>scammers </strong>also used the names of other famous personalities: <strong>Bill Gates</strong>, <strong>Elon Musk</strong> and <strong>Michael Dell</strong>.</p>



<p>In 2020, the police accused the 17-year-old of carrying out one of the largest <strong>attacks </strong>on the <strong>social network</strong> <strong>Twitter </strong>and gaining access to the accounts of <strong>Elon Musk</strong>, <strong>Bill Gates</strong> and other celebrities, Using the accounts of businessmen, the fraudster implemented a similar scheme, promising users to double their funds.</p>



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<p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>Fake exchangers</strong></p>



<p><br>Over the past few years, the number of <strong>cryptocurrency wallets</strong>, <strong>exchanges</strong>, exchangers and other services has increased significantly. Fraudsters use this to create their own <strong>exchange </strong>offices, which are not engaged in exchanging, but stealing funds. Users are attracted to such sites with the help of supposedly closed information about what can be earned here on fluctuations in <strong>exchange rates</strong>.</p>



<p>Usually <strong>attackers </strong>describe this scheme as “<strong>rubles </strong>&#8211; <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>&#8211; <strong>rubles</strong>”. They promise the user a profit after <strong>buying digital coins</strong> in a real exchanger with their subsequent resale on a fraudulent platform. Real exchange platforms in such schemes are used to increase trust.</p>



<p>The essence of the scheme is that the user <strong>buys cryptocurrency</strong> for <strong>rubles </strong>on a <strong>real platform</strong>. Then he turns to the scam platform, since they offer a very favorable exchange rate for <strong>cryptocurrency </strong>to <strong>rubles</strong>. But there is no exchange. As soon as the user sends funds to the fake exchanger, he loses them.</p>



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<p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>Financial pyramids</strong></p>



<p><br>Over the past six months, <strong>cryptocurrencies </strong>have risen greatly and have shown good returns. For example, <strong>Bitcoin </strong>has grown by 26% since January, <strong>Ethereum </strong>by 250%, and <strong>Binance </strong>Coin by 900%.</p>



<p> Such numbers <strong>attract </strong>the attention of people who want to <strong>make money</strong>. But most of them do not have the necessary knowledge to properly invest in <strong>digital assets</strong>.</p>



<p>This is what <strong>scammers </strong>use, promising high returns to those who will provide them with <strong>cryptocurrency</strong>, allegedly in trust. <strong>Attackers </strong>imitate the work of full-fledged <strong>investment </strong>funds, publishing daily reports on transactions and profitability. </p>



<p>Moreover, at first, fraudsters can even make some kind of payments to victims, working on the principle of a financial pyramid. Trusting <strong>cyber criminals</strong>, users start giving them even more money.</p>



<p>In early June, the <strong>Bank of Russia</strong> published a black list , which included 1,820 organizations with signs of illegal activity. The regulator&#8217;s list includes <strong>crypto </strong>companies that have signs of a &#8220;financial pyramid&#8221;: Crypto-Max, Crypto Inc, Crypto Invest, Exchange Coindesk and Secretcryptodeals, the regulator points out. Also on February 1, 2021, the Central Bank revealed the illegal activities of Cryptobase Inc, Cryptobull, Cryptohands, CryptoKS, Crypton Broker, Cryptonode and Cryptoon and others.</p>



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<p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>How to identify scammers</strong></p>



<p><br><strong>Attackers </strong>work according to well-established schemes that allow them to enter the trust of users in order to deceive them later, <strong>Nikita Zuborev</strong>, a senior analyst at <strong>Bestchange.ru</strong>, explained. He named the signs by which you can detect fraudsters:</p>



<p>1.Rush. Fraudsters in most cases rush their &#8220;clients&#8221; and try not to give them time to realize what is happening. They often use manipulations and threats for this purpose. Do not follow the lead of those who try to confuse you and rush you, do not forget to get acquainted with all available information and do not follow the lead of those who want to confuse you.</p>



<p><br>2.Exclusive information. To <strong>attract </strong>attention, scammers use the &#8220;secret bugs&#8221; trick. On <strong>social networks</strong>, scammers often &#8220;share information&#8221; about an allegedly erroneous <strong>exchange rate</strong>, or about successful exchange chains. Both are losses of money.</p>



<p><br>3.<strong>Cryptocurrency</strong>. If you have to make an operation with the sending of <strong>tokens</strong>, or a transfer in payment systems with a low degree of data verification, like <strong>QIWI</strong>, then you should be very careful about this. Fraudsters very often use the features of these systems to their advantage. For <strong>cryptocurrencies</strong>, these are non-refundable transactions.</p>



<p><br>To the dangerous factors that indicate an attempt to mislead, there are promises of inflated profitability: 50% or even 100% per month, added <strong>Nikita Soshnikov</strong>, director of the Alfacash <strong>cryptocurrency exchange </strong>service.</p>



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<p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>No refunds are provided</strong></p>



<p><br>Users who have become victims of <strong>scammers </strong>have the opportunity to contact law enforcement agencies, but this does not give any chance that the stolen funds will be returned, <strong>Nikita Zuborev</strong> noted.</p>



<p>According to him, in very rare cases it may happen that the <strong>scammers </strong>make a mistake and will be caught, but even in this case, the criminals may no longer have money.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><em><strong>“It is impossible to return cryptocurrencies, even if law enforcement officers had a great desire and authority. The very essence of cryptocurrencies implies the absence of a management function on the part of central organizations, ”the analyst added.</strong></em></p>



<p>If we are talking about <strong>crypto exchanges</strong> registered abroad with a good reputation, then even in the event of <strong>hacking </strong>and theft of user funds, there are high chances of receiving a refund, says <strong>Nikita Soshnikov</strong>. According to him, the opposite situation is observed in Russia.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><em><strong>“If we talk about Russia, then I would not count on the return of the stolen money. At least now, ”the expert noted.</strong></em></p>



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