The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is in the latest Bitcoin scams news as it expects a rise in the number of crypto scams which are related to the coronavirus pandemic. As a press release from April 13 showed, the FBI warned that the increase of “crypto-related fraud schemes” is the reason why crypto holders are targeted by scammers more and more in 2020.
The elderly are particularly vulnerable to these scams, but the agency said that people of all ages are suffering from these and could be victimized by such scams. As the FBI said in the press release:
“There are not only numerous virtual asset service providers online but also thousands of cryptocurrency kiosks located throughout the world which are exploited by criminals to facilitate their schemes. Many traditional financial crimes and money laundering schemes are now orchestrated via cryptocurrencies.”
In particular, the agency warned Americans to be on a lookout for blackmail attempts, work-from-home scams, fake COVID-19 treatments or preventative measures as well as traditional investment scams. It is obvious that crypto holders are targeted by these scams, mostly because hackers want to steal their cryptocurrencies.
Among the more serious scams that the FBI pointed out is an email or letter where the author threatens to infect the victim or their family with the coronavirus unless a payment in crypto is made to a provided Bitcoin wallet address.
As we previously reported, there have been some online perpetrators which have even attempted to steal cryptocurrency by misleading people into thinking that they are sending Bitcoin donations to the World Health Organization (WHO) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest cryptocurrencies news also show that as per the FBI, anyone who suspects that they are being targeted by a scammer should verify that the charities are legitimate and accept crypto for donations. Even if the organization is legit, the FBI advises on the “pressure to use a virtual currency should be considered a significant red flag.”
The data published before by the blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis notes that the FBI warnings are consistent – and that crypto holders are targeted by more scammers. As per this report, the average value of transactions received by the wallets of known scammers fell by 30% during March.
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