Bitcoin Scams are Coming Your Way

Many find bitcoin to be an exciting opportunity to get rich as the price of the cryptocurrency was only worth about $400 per unit in 2015, but rose to nearly $20,000 last December. Since falling back down to around $9,000, many are pondering whether or not it is worth investing in the digital coin.

However, cybercriminals have been capitalizing on the buzz surrounding bitcoin to lure in unsuspecting victims who are opening malicious links. Avoid falling prey to these scams with dfndr security, which comes equipped with an anti-hacking feature:

The anti-hacking feature assists by warning you of suspicious links before you get a chance to click on them, a handy tool to have on your Android phone. As for bitcoin scams, this is what you should know about them.

Read More: Where Do Most Phishing Attacks Occur and Why?

The Singapore Phishing Scam
Some of the first victims of cryptocurrency cons are phone owners in Singapore who received the following message: “You have (1) BitCoin in your account. Confirm your account here.” This SMS spread around, inviting people who wanted to get rich quick to grab their free Bitcoin by opening an account.

Channel NewsAsia reported that at least two people in Singapore were the recipients of these messages in January, offering them more than S$18,500 (nearly US$14,000) in the cryptocurrency.

Singapore Spreads Worldwide
An investigation revealed that people in other parts of the world had been receiving similar messages, including Australia and New Zealand. Security researchers discovered that clicking the link spells trouble for those fall for it.

In all reported instances, the victims’ personal information was at great risk if they clicked on the link. By entering the domain, victims inadvertently gave cybercriminals the green light to use their phones to mine bitcoin for financial gain, which slowed down their devices — all for the scammers’ benefit.

Twitter Bots Impersonating Celebrities
Another bitcoin scam that has been rising in popularity is in the form of Twitter bots that impersonate celebrities such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk. These fraudulent accounts have been making their way to social media and asking for small amounts of cryptocurrencies in exchange for a large payout later on.

One scammer said he was donating ethereum to the ETH community as part of a 24-hour promotion that will handsomely reward those who donate. You can conclude that in this scam there was no donation of ethereum, just a cybercriminal stealing people’s hard earned money.

How to Avoid Bitcoin Scams
When using social media, keep an eye out for anything fishy such as a celebrity randomly contacting you or any other account asking for your cryptocurrency in exchange for a bigger reward.

As far as phishing scams go, the best way to avoid them is to not click on any link you receive via text or email. Doing so gives hackers the opportunity to access your personal information for criminal, profit-making purposes.

These scams are happening more frequently because tracking cryptocurrency transactions is harder than monitoring normal currency. Plus, more retailers and online services are accepting bitcoin as a form of payment, with some believing the value of the digital coin has yet to plateau.