How to keep yourself safe from Crypto mining scams in 2022?

by Alicia Adley Blockchain Council

Cryptocurrency trading related scams are on the increase, which is expected. Cryptocurrency is considered as a currency that is immune to inflation and generates significant gains for investors. Due to the fact that crypto tokens and NFTs are digital assets with all transactions occurring online, they are an attractive target for hackers due to their difficulty in tracking digitally.

According to a recent Chainalysis report, the worldwide value of cryptocurrency kept in unauthorised wallet addresses surged by 79% last year, from $7.8 billion in 2020 to $14 billion last year. Cryptocurrency is believed to provide substantial benefits. While this may be true, there is a general lack of knowledge about digital currency and how to invest for high returns, which makes it easier for fraudsters to deceive people.

According to the bulk of recent crypto scams, people are being duped into investing in cryptocurrency with the promise of double gains. However, for many, this has turned into a nightmare. Several clients had doubts about the legitimacy of the website in which they were investing. This was shown in one of Chainalysis' research, which revealed that fraudulent cryptocurrency websites will have 9.6 million Indian users in 2021.

Types of Scams

Mining Scams

Cloud mining allows non-technical investors to mine bitcoin without the need to invest in costly equipment. When you consider that you can mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin from the comfort of your own home without investing in prohibitively expensive technology, it may be rather lucrative.

False ones are easily identifiable by their lofty claims. They promise incredible returns on your investment while forgetting to disclose the hidden charge that will be deducted from these gains.

Pump and Dump schemes

Scammers often acquire new altcoins in bulk. This momentarily increases the market price of the cryptocurrency and generates FOMO (fear of missing out) among other investors.

Scammers sell their coins at a higher price when more investors invest in the new currency and the price increases.

Malware

New investors are not usually familiar with the ins and outs of cryptocurrencies before to and throughout their investment. As a consequence, several malware programmes have grown in popularity. People are now confronted with new and more dangerous threats posed by malware programmes.

Modern software targeted at cryptocurrency users and investors is capable of gaining access to the user's online wallet balance, depleting the account, and replacing the user's authentic address with the scammer's.

What you can do to avoid being a victim

Incredulity is the most powerful deterrent to deception. Regrettably, we live in an era where not everything we read online is true. And much of it is purpose-built to fool and harm us. Keep the following guidelines in mind to prevent getting duped:

Never give out your personal information to a corporation that reaches you without your consent by email, text, or social media. It may seem to be a friend, but it might really be a hacker who has gained access to their email or social media account. Independently contact them using a separate mode of communication.
Almost invariably, when something looks to be too good to be true, it is. Any investing strategy should be evaluated sceptically.
Two-factor authentication should be enabled for all of your cryptocurrency accounts.
Any 'offer' of investment that needs an advance payment should be rejected.
Never install applications from unauthorised app stores.
Install anti-malware software from a reputable provider on your PC and mobile devices.

Wrapping up

Cryptocurrency certification is becoming more popular as the need for cryptocurrency financial advisers increases. Enroll in a course on cryptocurrency trading to get started.