According to a new report by the cryptocurrency intelligence firm, Whale Alert, scammers stole $24 million in bitcoin during the first half of 2020. Online scammers find it too easy to mislead their crypto investors because their tactics are incredibly adept and aggressive, according to a report published on July 10.
For instance, a specific highly successful crypto scam has raked up more than $130,000 a day ‘with nothing more than a one-page website, a bitcoin address, and a decent amount of YouTube advertising.’ While another scheme has earned more than $1.5 million in six months by luring investors into a sham crypto exchange using an unprofessional website perforated with spelling mistakes.
Scammer revenue to spike by 2000 percent by end of the year
Whale Alert suggests that it has gathered and assessed “hundreds of thousands” of data from websites, bitcoin addresses, and reports using Scam Alert, a new tool for reporting, monitoring, and analyzing blockchain crimes. Whale Alert, famous for tracking large-scale BTC transactions, discovered that “crypto crime pays a lot.” Crypto crimes are significantly motivated by the fact that the venture is risk-free, which means that the perpetrators have a very high chance of getting away with the crime.
Indeed, the report claims that fraudsters have got away with $38 million worth of bitcoins over the last four years, omitting Ponzi schemes. Whale Alert projects scammers’ annual revenues may rise by 2,000 percent since 2017, reaching $50 million annually.
Giveaway scams are more popular according to Whale Alert Report
There are different types of swindling strategies, including sextortion, sham exchanges, video scams, and bitcoin recovery schemes. However, according to the Whale Alert, the most popular type of extortion is a giveaway strategy. Giveaway scams tend to impersonate public figures such as SpaceX and Tesla’s Elon Musk, or a prominent crypto exchange for convincing individuals to send their bitcoins using YouTube advertising.
As per Whale Alert, such fraudulent schemes can rake from a few thousand dollars to $300,000, subject to the strategy employed and the scam ‘s efforts. Notably, the report also warned that the revamped approach suggests that “entire professional teams” may be involved in some of the most fortunate crypto scams.