Cryptocurrency scams almost double in 2020 with more on the way
Increases in the value of cryptocurrencies last year coupled with a rise in mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin has led to 400,000 crypto scams being created in 2020, a 40 percent increase compared to 2019,
A new report from Bolster, a deep learning-powered, next generation fraud prevention company, forecasts a further increase of 75 percent this year based on current levels of suspicious activity.
The global market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies reached a peak of $1.7 trillion in January 2021, which is an eight fold increase from January 2020. Bitcoin support from celebrities and major major businesses, such as Tesla, have helped boost interest.
"Among all the different types of scams, crypto scams are the fastest growing category, and we are just at the beginning of this new wave of digital theft campaigns," says Shashi Prakash, co-founder and CTO of Bolster. "We continue to see scammers being opportunistic and designing campaigns focused on real time, surging trends when people are likely not to be on guard because it's so new."
The Cryptocurrency Scam Report is based on analysis of more than 300 million websites to identify those related to cryptocurrency scams. The analysis covered Bitcoin, the most well-known cryptocurrency, as well as other lesser-known currencies such as PolkaDot and Tether.
The most prolific type of scam in 2020 was fake prizes, giveaways, or sweepstakes, followed by investment related scams, advance fee schemes and celebrity impersonations. The top three cryptocurrencies featured in scams were Bitcoin, ChainLink and Ethereum, with top crypto wallets or exchanges targeted including Binance, Coinbase and Gemini. The top three celebrities impersonated are Elon Musk, John McAfee and Yusaku Maezawa.
You can read more on the Bolster blog.
Image Credit: Lightboxx/Shutterstock