Cryptocurrency may be a new age asset that's free from a lot of shortcomings associated with traditional currencies but it is surely not 'unscamable'. Of late, there have been a lot of reports of scams at different levels indicating the risks associated with owning and trading cryptocurrencies.
Recently, hackers stole cryptocurrencies worth more than $320 million from a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform Wormhole. The heist, according to reports, is the fourth largest in the cryptocurrency space.
DeFi platforms, which allow users to lend and borrow cryptocurrencies without any interference from gatekeeprs of finance like banks, have become an easy target for scammers.
However, DeFi is not the only platform being abused by hackers. Even investors who are not registered on such platforms are being scammed across the world. For instance, in India, hackers are using fake cryptocurrency sites to trap gullible investors.
As per blockchain tracking firm Chainanalysis, Indian investors are very frequent visitors to websites running crypto scams.
The report says that Indians visited crypto scam websites more than 17.8 million times in 2020 and 9.6 million times in 2021. These websites include coinpayu.com, adbtc.top, hackertyper.net, dualmine.com, and coingain.app.
In January, a cryptocurrency fraud worth Rs. 1,200 crore was unearthed in Kerala. According to reports, at least 1.1 million investors were cheated in the scam through an 'initial coin offering'. One scam is under investigation in Karnataka too.
Cybersecurity and crypto experts have been flagging an increase in cryptocurrency-related frauds and scams for years now. In fact, in November, Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das cited 'possibility of digital frauds' as one of the key concerns associated with cryptocurrencies.
