If you hear about a scam that is not listed here, please let us know by submitting a complaint. Attempting to take advantage of such confusion is a tactic employed by some bad actors looking to profit from unsuspecting consumers. The companies or websites listed may sound similar to the names of other companies or websites that also operate in the marketplace. When companies or websites (fake or not) have look- or sound-alike names, the potential confusion created for consumers is real. A Note on Imposters: Imposter websites are one of the most common reported scams.

Scammer will then provide detailed instructions on how to pay the fee to get the decryption key and may accept payment in crypto assets. Romance or Social Media Scam – Scammer adopts a fake online profile to gain a victim’s affection and trust and then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. Rug Pull Scam – Derived from the expression “pulling the rug out”.

For crypto, this might be most relevant to non-fungible tokens.

Asset Recovery Scam – Scam by a third party requiring a fee to “recover” funds lost in a prior fraudulent transaction. Bait and Switch Scams – A scam to mislead buyers, whereby a seller advertises an appealing but ingenuine offer to sell a financial product or service that the seller does not actually intend to sell. For crypto, this might be most relevant to non-fungible tokens. Instead, the seller offers a sub-par, defective, or unwanted product or service. Crypto Blackmail Scam – Scammer sends emails or physical mails to victims saying they have personal information about the victim or embarrassing or compromising photos or videos.

Crypto Trading Apps

In exchange, investors receive a portion of the trading fees. Investments made to a scammer-controlled wallet. Believing their investments to be a success, victims purchase additional cryptocurrency. May request payment through crypto assets. Livestream Scam – Scammer broadcasts a livestream event through an online streaming platform (e.g., YouTube) to market a fraudulent promotion or product. Scammers ultimately move all stored cryptocurrency. Promotions typically offer questionable terms that are too good to be true.

They scammer then threatens to make these things personal information public unless the victim pays them in cryptocurrency. Convinces victims to deposit funds to the platform under the guise of providing victims access to a unique investment opportunity. Hacking – Exploiting a computer system or private network inside a computer with the intent of stealing personal information, such as passwords and bank account information, for financial gain. Fraudulent Trading Platform – Scammer develops a fraudulent website or application. The fraudulent platforms appear legitimate, even going as far as replicating price movements and producing artificial gains.