16 Tricks Used by Scammers to Steal Your Bitcoins | How do hackers steal bitcoins?
Bitcoin stealing is becoming more sophisticated. We have compiled a list of 16 ways criminals can steal your Bitcoins and how you can protect yourself from them.
In today’s digital world, practically everyone is using a smartphone. In addition, people use social media apps to stay connected with each other. A perfect place for a Bitcoin scam.
Also Read: Can Cryptocurrency Be Hacked?
If we are missing any methods employed by BITCOIN SCAMMERS, let us know in the comment section.
With the internet revolution in the 2000s, the world is exploding with new applications, churning out new ones almost each month. Though there are many apps online, there are few which are accepted globally. Today you have a wide range of apps that help you remain connected with your family and friends, and even new friends can be made regardless of your residential country.
Since the explosion of the social media apps on the internet, retail companies have found a new way to attract customers. Customers can order online and get their shipments at their doorstep even without leaving their houses. Practically all the transactions and human connections are carried out via smartphones. Thus for scammers, this proves to be a perfect breeding ground for scams.
Use this article as a guide and a tool to spot the potential Bitcoin scams, and avoid becoming one of its victims.
US officials announced on Tuesday they had recovered $3.6 billion of bitcoin stolen in a 2016
How To Earn With Bitcoin This 2022
5 Easy Ways How Can someone Hack Your Bitcoin Wallet
1. Fake Wallets
Bitcoin Wallets
Although this bitcoin stealing technique is considerably less common, it has been used to con unaware users out of their cash. Apps that initially mimic a real wallet before attempting to steal your coins are called fake wallets. These phony wallets frequently replicate the name and logo of the actual wallet to dupe customers into thinking they are using the real thing.
25+ Top Alternative To Metamask
2. The giveaway bitcoin scam:
These are some of the common scams, still prevalent on social media platforms, proving that people still fall victim to them regardless of the spread of awareness.
Scammers will impersonate a celebrity and create a fake account. Then, they post a message on social media with a link encouraging people to double or triple their Bitcoins by depositing it onto their site, reachable via the provided link.
In reality, scammers bet on the human tendency of giving in to greed, fear, and desperation. Hence, they lure the Bitcoin holders with a fake promise. The victims go to the link and deposit their Bitcoins. The link is active for a short period; the scammers close the link and vanish into thin air after some time, along with loads of Bitcoins accumulated in their kitty.
How to Make Money with Cryptocurrency 2022
Although there are few genuine giveaways, you need to research and confirm the genuineness of the site. Try searching for the name of the celebrity or the company endorsing free giveaways. Scammers generally make a fake link that requires sharp eyes to spot the difference between a genuine site from a fake one.
3. Enticing with a fake verified account:
Scammers are keeping pace with the world. When social media platforms confirm the identity of a celebrity, they are marked with a blue tick, as we see on Twitter. Thus the scammers make a fake account and add the same profile picture as the original celebrity with a verified blue mark on the account. Facebook and Instagram also have authentic verification of a celebrity. However, even this is manipulated by the scammers. A sure way to tell a genuine account from a fake one is by the number of followers for that celebrity. A genuine celebrity account may have millions of followers or more, than a fake account which may have roughly a hundred followers.
4. Reply from social media sites:
Another trick these scammers pull off is using verified accounts to reply to other high-profile viral tweets or accounts to gain more exposure. Scammers usually post a link to get-rich-quick Bitcoin promotions or other such scams. The idea here is that people generally spend more time reading the comments made by other people rather than the actual Tweet or messages.
When people read such messages on a celebrity’s post, they assume that the celebrity is also following or endorsing the scammer who has posted the promotional message. Thus, people jump into it without thinking twice, later getting scammed.
5. YouTube live video scam:
One of the latest Bitcoin scams is going live on YouTube. Scammers generally use stolen material, impersonate an authority figure, and post a link to a “giveaway” where you are supposed to send in your Bitcoins. In contrast, scammers also come out live on YouTube.
It is a great trick since their video on YouTube exists as long as they are live. Once the video gets over, the video disappears from the platform. Thus there is no way of verifying the scammer who has now gotten away with cheating those gullible Bitcoin holders.
You can watch out for these tell-tale signs if you ever come across such a live YouTube scam;
- The total number of videos on the channel. A channel with a few videos is suspicious.
- Is there a gray YouTube verification badge on it?
- For how long has the channel been in existence? Check out the stats from the About link visible in their YouTube profile. If the channel is brand new, then be on guard.
- Does the live video fill the entire screen? Most scammers use half of the screen to promote the link to the giveaway while going Live. However, a genuine Live video would generally avoid this.
7 More Ways Criminals Can Steal Your Bitcoins
- Ransomware
- Fake Wallets
- Bitcoin Phishing
- Ponzi Schemes
- Fake Cryptocurrencies
- Scam ICOs
- Scammers on P2p Exchanges
What are the Common Ways Criminals Use to Steal Bitcoin?
Here are some of the common methods that criminals use to steal Bitcoin.
1. Private Keys Theft
2. Crypto-adjacent crime
3. Wallet Vulnerability Exploitation
4. Fraudulent Investment Funds
5. Direct Legit Exchange Attacks
Conclusion:
Always beware of scammers who would either DM you or are floating their adverts on social media platforms. When you come across any lucrative offer, rather than giving in to your emotions, use logic and do thorough research before going ahead with the deal.
Remember, a credit card dispute can be opened, where the amount of money can be recovered since the government overlooks it. You do not have such a luxury while dealing in cryptocurrency. Once the transaction is done, it really is challenging to trace all your Bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency. So be on guard to avoid becoming a victim of a Bitcoin scam.
