The cryptocurrency market is growing Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (Eth) or other cryptocurrencies. Every day, criminals seem to find new ways to make fun of investors. In this article we list five of them.
Losing your cryptocurrency wallet is, of course, the biggest nightmare there is. Fortunately, you can protect yourself from online threats and malicious tricks by using a VPN. The Dutch company Surfshark offers comprehensive protection in the digital world and is temporarily available for only 1.99 euros per monthwith a free four month gift.
Cryptophaws and How to Prevent Them
Crypto phishing occurs in many ways, but the most common are phishing attacks. You have probably heard of it, for example in Cryptocurrency News. This is when criminals try to obtain sensitive information – such as the private keys of your cryptocurrency purse or your access data in exchanges – through emails, websites or fake messages that are barely distinguishable from the real ones.
Earlier this year, for example, the customer service of Trezor, a popular e-wallet maker, was hacked, exposing the personal data of tens of thousands of customers. These were then used in a major phishing attack, with the aim of obtaining pick-up phrases from users. A lot of cryptocurrencies were lost, but by using surfshark VPN, users could have protected. In fact, the alternative identification tool allows you to hide your identity according to a new email address. This prevents your real data from falling into the wrong hands.
There’s also a notable example from a few months ago, when a former executive director of a cryptocurrency project lost $450,000 after being connected to a friend’s Wi-Fi network. This friend had maliciously compromised the network, allowing the attacker access to the CEO wallet. This type of attack is called a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack and could have been avoided with a VPN because all your transmitted data is encrypted. This way, no one can see or intercept this data, and you can connect to any Wi-Fi network with peace of mind.
Pyramid scams also remain a common way that criminals have extorted crypto investors. BitConnect is one of the best-known examples. It was a fraudulent platform that lured people in 2017 with the promise of high returns, but in reality, payments to early investors were funded by new participants. Once the influx of new participants diminished, the system collapsed and all investors lost their money. The lesson of this: if something seems too good to be true, it often is.