Cryptocurrency and online trading scams are now a popular way for scammers to trick people into sending money. Students can be an easy target with often unbelievable offers to聽make money quickly. Most crypto scams聽appear via聽email, or聽social media,聽as聽fake investment and business opportunities. Usually the scammer wants you to send money, or make a payment, but once you do, your money is gone, and there鈥檚 generally no way to get it back. .
Watch out for anyone who:
- Guarantees that you鈥檒l make money
- Promises big payouts that will double your money in a short time
- Promises free money or cryptocurrency
- Says that the offer is only available for a limited time
- Makes claims about their company that are not clear
- Asks for your personal聽ID, bank details or to set up a new bank acocunt.
Be aware of these common scams circulating via social media:
- .
There are lots of different cryptocurrencies around, and you might hear about them in聽the media, but make sure that you're聽aware of these common scams:
- Fake exchanges -聽investment opportunities of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies being marketed on social media and via email 鈥� these will send you to fake exchanges which can often disappear overnight.聽Make sure websites are HTTPS secured - although this is no guarantee the site is genuine 鈥� but the most important thing is to do your research and seek out reviews of sites.
- Fake wallets - wallets are primarily about storing your cryptocurrency and not buying or selling it. Fake wallets are scams for malware to infect your computer to steal your passwords and other personal information.聽They are not easy to spot but sites like Bitcoin.com, for example, do recommend wallets for mobile and desktop users and provide a simple, secure way to send and receive bitcoin.
- Phishing scams -聽phishing is when someone tries to trick you into thinking that a website or company is genuine. Scammers will often encourage you to make a transaction, but this will be fake, meaning you鈥檒l lose your money as a result.聽Alternatively, it could be an opportunity for scammers to place malware on your device to steal your personal details.
- Ponzi scams -聽ponzi scams usually involve making strong or unrealistic claims about the returns you are able to make by investing in cryptocurrencies. They often have referral programmes to encourage investors to sign up their friends and families.聽In reality, most people will lose some of all of their money in these types of schemes.
If you spot a cryptocurrency scam, report it immediately to the . For more information, check out or . You can also follow the on Facebook.
More support
Check our IT security - stay safe online聽web pages to help learn how to protect your devices and prevent attacks so that you won't lose important data.
You can also read about online, email聽and phone scams which target international students.
If you'd like to talk to someone about any online safety issues聽you can call聽the BU IT Service Desk on 01202 965515, option 1.
