Spotting the FTC’s most Reported Crypto Scams

And that’s just the beginning. That’s because the U.S. Most of this total is driven by cryptocurrency services that were sanctioned by the U.S. Another key reason the new total is so much higher, besides the identification of new illicit addresses: We’re now counting the $8.7 billion in creditor claims against FTX in our 2022 figures. Given how young NFTs are at the moment, where NFTs stand now is likely to look vastly different within a short period of time. Keep in mind that some NFTs may not be available on the open marketplace or may only be purchased through specific vendors. However, these wallets are more open to attacks and easier to hack. If we asked you to let us borrow a dollar, you wouldn’t open your wallet and say, „Which one-dollar bill do you want? When picking a unique asset, keep in mind that you must own the copyright and intellectual property rights for the item you want to mint.

As with any asset, investors must be careful before dabbling in these widely misunderstood assets. They lack traditional fundamentals that investors can analyze and assign value to. This may seem strange to some, as everyone can see and interact with the image. Once you’ve found an NFT that you’d like to purchase, you may have the opportunity to buy it outright. Unfortunately, wading into the NFT market isn’t as simple as it might sound. A hardware wallet (also known as a „cold wallet“): This is a physical device that is generally pretty similar to a USB stick that you might use to store files from your computer. There are two basic types of crypto wallets: software and hardware wallets. Because these wallets can be completely isolated from the network, assets stored in hardware wallets are often considered to be far more secure than software wallets. But if you’re a beginner, it may be best to stick to ETH and the Ethereum blockchain, as it has a lot more marketplaces and users. However, there is still a lot of skepticism. However, considering the high transaction costs and environmental impact associated with ETH, some want to use cryptos from other blockchains to trade NFTs.

Some NFT owners simply want an asset that will increase in value. For individuals who want to build a collection of digital assets, NFTs offer a unique opportunity that hasn’t existed outside of traditional collectibles and art markets ever before. In this respect, some collectors treat NFTs as an investment – much like traditional art. The demand for NFT art has exploded recently. Selling your NFT follows a similar process as outlined above. Take care with this process. Take the time to understand all the fees and different kinds of auction methods available to you before initiating the sale. There is no inbuilt methods of encryption to speak of, not even insecure kinds of encryption, or encryption where Discord has the key as well as you. If someone you don’t know – or even someone you think you know – demands payment in crypto scams, it’s almost certainly a scam. Some NFT marketplaces, like Nifty Gateway and MakersPlace, let you trade NFTs using traditional payment methods.

Made a payment using a debit or credit card. Despite costing less than 5 cents to make, a 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card sold for $5.2 million. This happened because of the history, rarity, and cultural relevance of the card. By the time scammers „pulled the rug“ on Squid Game, on Nov. 1, it had increased in value by 230,000%, according to Bloomberg. Example: In late 2021, a new cryptocurrency called Squid Game (inspired by, but not affiliated with, the popular Netflix series) took over headlines before spectacularly crashing in a rug pull when its developers suddenly abandoned the project. Examples of scams are giveaways, hustles involving new romance, phishing, extortion emails, fake company alerts, blackmail, „rug pulls,“ and may involve fake mining apps or networks. Identifying and avoiding fake apps demands careful scrutiny. Fake crypto apps not only siphon money but also gather personal information that can lead to broader breaches of financial security. However, we can also see that Finiko received funds from what we’ve identified as a Russia-based money launderer.