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Bitcoin scams are becoming more sophisticated, according to a trader, since the value of the currency exceeds $ 7,400.
Alex Saunders, a Bitcoin trader from Launceston, Australia, who has been trading in the digital currency for five years, said that phishing scams, pyramids and websites that promise extraordinary returns regularly adapt to an evolving market , reports ABC News.
Saunders said:
When I started, it was very dubious sites just trying to catch people. While now hackers and crooks are definitely becoming more sophisticated.
An Australian trader has discovered how easy it is for hackers to siphon coins.
Jason Hall of Perth, Australia, explained that scammers were able to manipulate Google's search results for its trading website. They were then able to access his real account and then steal his money.
He said that he had typed his trading site on Google and clicked on the link at the top, adding:
I was in a hurry, I wanted to make an exchange, I saw an opportunity and I wanted to do it quickly before I fell asleep.
The Hall website was connected to a fraudulent website copying a legitimate site. It was only a week after the incident that Hall was able to get in touch with the site's support. Unfortunately, all his bitcoins had disappeared. As a result, Hall lost AU $ 1,600 to the pirates.
Over the past week, the value of bitcoin has reached unprecedented highs, from $ 6,000 to more than $ 7,400 at the time of publication. Yet with rising prices comes also the growing interest. According to the Australian Commission on Competition and Consumers (ACCC), 245 bitcoin scams were reported in October, for a total of $ 92,000.
A spokesperson for ACCC said:
The scam categories with the largest number of reports on bitcoins in October were impromptu scams with lotteries and lotteries, investment scams and recovery scams.
Due diligence is required with respect to trading with Bitcoin and to avoid becoming another victim of hackers. With bitcoin gaining more and more attention, there will also be an increase in the number of traders wanting to buy their own parts. Many bitcoin scams, however, will sound too good to be true and are simply there to win the money of unsuspecting individuals.
According to Saunders, it is important for potential investors to first conduct their own research before investing in cryptocurrency projects.
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