Over time, devious people will find a way to exploit even the most safe and secure platforms for illicit gains. Such predatory behavior from unscrupulous individuals can sully even the name of the most renowned companies out there… Or maybe there really is such a thing as a Crypto.com scam.
Our article will tell you all about online fraud and how to ensure the safety and integrity of your wallets.
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What is Crypto.com, and Is It Safe?
Crypto.com is one of the most frequented crypto exchanges, based on the overall trust score, experiences turmoil and various ups and downs ever since it made its first digital footprint.
While at the same time being one of the world’s premier crypto exchanges, a lot of controversy has risen from their operations and business decisions. The influence this company has on the global crypto trading ecosystem is undeniable, so let’s revise some of the key aspects of this conduct.
Website Overview
Crypto.com was originally established in Hong Kong, back in 2016. Today, nearly 250 different currencies are supported, with the platform being used by about 80 million consumers from 90 countries worldwide.
This online crypto portal provides a wide variety of services, such as margin trading, derivatives trading, De-Fi wallet options, and staking.
According to CoinGecko, the Crypto.com exchange is currently ranked 15th, based on the overall trust score of 9/10, with nearly $800.000.000 daily volume and 4.65 million monthly visits.
Pros and Cons
The majority of clients agree on several general advantages and disadvantages related to registering and purchasing the services offered by the website in question.
While no service provider can provide flawless conditions for every single trader out there, there are some important aspects to every business offer.
Pros:
- A rich palette of currencies supported
- Wide range of services
- Affordable fees with discount options
- Safety measures implemented
Cons:
- Limited availability depending on the country
- Slow support with limited communication channels
- Oftentimes, unclear instructions and complicated navigation
Safety
Proper customer safety is paramount in the crypto trading world. For that reason, the firm has introduced the multi-factor authentication procedure and whitelisting. In addition, the business has acquired several approvals from prominent regulatory entities, but that doesn’t mean the customers are overly pleased.
Due to the abundance of negative user reviews, however, it could be highly questionable how secure the platform is overall.
If you check the Trustpilot reviews, a vast majority of them are negative, with users complaining about customer support being poorly organized, but also withdrawal issues appearing.
Common Crypto Scams
The main advantage, as well as a simultaneous drawback of blockchain-based assets, such as cryptocurrencies, tokens, or NFTs, is the anonymity involved with all transactions.
This had the unfortunate side effect of allowing a slew of different criminal organizations to adapt swathes of different con schemes to the new technology. Let’s take a look at how some of these schemes work.
DeFi Wallet Scams
Since crypto assets only exist in cyberspace, a certain technological solution is required to store them. These are called Decentralized Finance Wallets, or DeFi for short.
Many charlatans pretend to launch a software DeFi wallet, and wait for the clients to start pouring in their coins. Instead of any secure apps, the funds are funneled directly into the schemers’ own wallets.
Scam ICOs
Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs, constitute an initial dissemination of a set volume of newly created crypto coins. This is done by the developers primarily in order to raise further funds for the advancement of the particular coin’s infrastructure.
Fraudsters, on the other hand, don’t develop anything other than their own greed. They claim to start an ICO just to gain some easy money before abandoning the project.
Fake Endorsem*nts
Those who have been in the crypto waters for a while now will surely remember Elon Musk and his “DOGE to the Moon!” campaign.
AI software like DeepFake allows swindlers to post fake celebrity endorsem*nts online more easily than ever. They do this to artificially boost the price of their project, or just bring more people to their fraudulent platform.
Rug Pulls
One thing to watch out for every time you’re looking to invest in a newly launched coin is a Rug Pull. Many cryptocurrency developers raise money from various investors, including crowdfunding.
Instead of using the acquired funds to launch the final project, rug pullers will simply abandon it and keep the money for themselves.
Pump and Dump
In this scenario, the con artists will artificially inflate the price of their newly launched asset by manipulating certain market factors. Once the price becomes satisfactory for the conners, they will sell it on the market to the general public.
The flood of assets will cause the market to saturate and quickly depreciate the coin in question, but not before the fraudsters have made a profit.
Fake Crypto Trading App
Fake trading apps come in many forms, but usually as web trader software or various unverified mobile apps. They exist to make an illicit crypto exchange more believable and keep the victims occupied and spending.
Schemers usually actively edit the market data displayed in the app to make their marks lost on every transaction.
Mining Pool Scams
Legitimate mining pools create a computer network of linked machines with the purpose of obtaining more computing power. The mined coins are then distributed to the individual miners based on their own machine’s involvement in the network.
Fake crypto trading websites will only pretend to create a mining pool, and use the information from their customers’ computers to steal their crypto assets.
Cryptojacking
This scenario is a direct opposite of the mining pool scheme. Here, the cybercriminals will disseminate malicious software to create an illicit mining pool using other people’s machines without the owners’ consent.
Of course, the accumulated profits are pocketed only by the criminals themselves. While this may not seem directly harmful, the majority of devices may suffer damage to hardware when used for prolonged crypto mining.
How Scam Brokers Use Crypto.com to Steal Your Funds
In relation to the aforementioned common crypto scams, there are more than a few examples of cryptoscams attempted with the very Crypto.com website.
It isn’t rare to see swindlers trying to pull off a phishing scam by setting up similarly named websites and leading their victims to share their personal data on fraudulent websites. Crypto-Com was definitely one of them, as FINMA reports.
Various fraudulent organizations may use already established legit crypto investment sites like Crypto.com to launder illicitly gained money. This is in part possible due to the evolving regulation framework and inherent anonymity of crypto transfers. Impersonation is also often involved.
Furthermore, the site itself suffered a $35 million loss due to hacking, back in January 2022. Transaction problems are also something the company is known for.
At the end of 2022, the number of withdrawals on the site massively increased due to users hearing about the company mishandling roughly $400 million. Another evidence of misplaced capital was when the firm sent one client over $7 million instead of a $68 refund. Are such occurrences just a coincidence or something more?
What to Do If Your Money Was Stolen Via Crypto.com?
If you suspect you’ve fallen victim to a crypto online fraud, contact your bank and regional financial regulator. Many nations have established specialized agencies dedicated to combating cybercrime and online frauds, including crypto scams.
In case you feel this is either too complicated or too time-consuming, get in touch with our experts. We have ample experience in resolving cases like yours and successfully recovering the stolen money.
