It's not always easy to spot the fraudulent platforms from the legit ones. However, there are certain red flags you should watch out for.
Scammers with a polished pitch
Scammers use well-known techniques. They reach out to their future victims via email, phone, social media, or private messaging, sometimes after the victim leaves their details on a site claiming to invest in 'cryptocurrencies'.
They start off super friendly and try to build a sense of trust. Their pitch is always very elaborate, and they often rely on a whole network of fake 'industry professionals'. They emphasize the rise of 'cryptocurrencies', especially Bitcoin, and dangle the promise of a 2.0 currency with super attractive returns.
Scammers invite their future victim to invest directly on a fraudulent platform, which is obviously not authorized to offer services on crypto-assets; or they suggest converting their funds through a licensed PSAN or PSCA before directing them to a scam trading platform.
After initially investing small amounts, the victim receives a first withdrawal of so-called profits. Now fully confident in the investment, they put in larger sums that will, this time, never be recovered.
The players eventually become unreachable or find various excuses to avoid making new withdrawals (funds locked for a minimum duration, technical issues, etc.). In some cases, they even ask for additional deposits to resolve the issue, claiming it's for paying fake 'taxes' or bogus 'fees'.
After Forex, binary options, and diamonds, scammers have moved on to crypto-assets or 'cryptocurrencies'. Stay vigilant. $BTC
