Cryptocurrency Scams: Don't be a Victim

Cryptocurrency is wonderful, as Steemians well know. However, anything that offers these sorts of financial freedoms inevitably attracts all sorts of evil and conniving tricksters who want to scam individuals who aren't all that clued up about bitcoin and other crypto. The list of websites that promise to ''double your bitcoin'' is long indeed and hopefully all you Steemians are far too wise and clever to fall for them. If in doubt then visit badbitcoin.org to find out if the site you are visiting is legit. Honestly though, your scam alert button should be triggered when you are promised a tenfold return on your 0.1 bitcoin investment in one week.

MALWARE SCAMS

There are also other types of scams that you should be careful of. These include fake bitcoin wallets that will get you to download some horrible malware onto your computer. These scamsters will lure you with the promise of free bitcoin to download the malware.

PHISHING SCAMS

These schemes will encourage you to type in your bitcoin wallet address to see if it is in their database....never ever give your bitcoin address to any suspect website. The address will be stolen immediately and any bitcoins taken.

PYRAMID SCAMS

Lately, bitcoin has also been used in pyramid schemes. Fundamentally, this is a ponzi scheme whereby a low initial investment is "guaranteed" high growth through a referral process of signing up other individuals below you. The most recent scam of this nature is "We Grow Bitcoins" which encourages participants to make a donation of 0.01 BTC and sign up 5 additional members who each make a similar donation. Monthly returns of 62BTC are promised, but of course, are never seen (except possibly by the scamster at the top of the scheme).

This kind of Multi Level Marketing (MLM) scheme is not restricted to Bitcoin either. Another scam recently revealed is the Ethereum Project which claims to be linked to a humanitarian charity, thus providing a cover of legitimacy. Unfortunately, however, it is unlikely that any of the funds scammed will ever be used for charitable ends. The Ethereum Project also offered unrealistic returns to subscribers in return for affiliate signups.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Firstly, educate yourself about best practices with regards managing cryptocurrency.

Secondly, if an offer seems too good to be true, it is almost 100 % sure it is. Do your due diligence before handing over any coins.

Finally, don't do any financial transaction using bitcoin or any altcoin using social networks.

I hope this information proves useful to you. Please do let me know in the comments if you know of any other bitcoin or altcoin scams out there.