Crypto is decentralized and unregulated by the government (for the most part, at least). These factors are the main allure of the currency, but unfortunately, they also come with downsides.
There’s nothing stopping celebrities and companies alike from creating rug pulls and launching pump and dumps. There’s also less protection against theft of crypto directly from you or your wallet. Coin Dispute Network is a team of crypto experts who have dedicated their lives to recovering lost crypto, whether it’s $2,000 or $200,000.
Coin Dispute Network has seen every shazam and theft strategy imaginable, and today they’re going to share with us some of the most prominent ways crypto gets stolen. Hopefully, their words will stick with you, and you can keep your crypto safe.
How can crypto be stolen? Aren’t wallets encrypted and unbreakable?
Well, yes and no. The thing about wallets is that they are encrypted, and that encryption is absolutely safe. No one is going to be able to break your encryption and get your crypto. If they could do that, they’d have a much more lucrative career working for the FBI.
Now, what’s not so secure is the username and password that you use on most crypto apps in order to access your account. That is the fail point, and that’s what can be hacked by many methods. On top of that, there are many scams out there that would love to see you part ways with your crypto.
So do these exchanges and apps steal the crypto?
Not all of them do, no. But there are very recent examples of companies that promise way more than they can deliver. Things like guaranteed returns.
Then, they get themselves into trouble loaning out the money their clients put into them. Next thing you know, they’re shutting off withdrawals, withdrawing their own money, and disappearing without a single consequence.
That’s awful. Are there any other scams like that out there?
There are countless scams when it comes to crypto. As you know, crypto is far less regulated than regular money, so there are far fewer consequences for running crypto scams.
On top of that, proving that anything crypto-related was a scam will be extremely difficult if you can even figure out who’s actually running things. Scammers may message or call owners of wallets pretending to be the exchange; they’ll ask for passwords, PIN codes, etc., and some people will give them away.
Some people will go as far as creating fake websites pretending to be the official ones; then, when you enter your credentials, they take them.
I see, so sometimes legitimate things can be illegitimate. Are there any other examples like this?
Well, celebrity rug pulls are a very relevant and classic example when it comes to crypto. The celebrity or influencer will tell all of their followers to buy a certain coin; they’ll tell them it’s safe and guaranteed to go up in price, etc.
Then once the price has increased substantially, that celebrity and those that made the coin will immediately sell off their shares, tanking the price and leaving those that bought in with a bunch of worthless coins.
How can people keep their crypto safe?
Be very cautious and don’t trust everyone. Suppose you use an exchange pick it very carefully. Just recently, an exchange was hacked, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
This exchange promised to pay the money back out of pocket, but people are still waiting. If something sounds too good to be true, it is.
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