Crypto scams are fraudulent schemes that use cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology to deceive investors or users. These scams can take many forms, such as fake initial coin offerings (ICOs), phishing scams, Ponzi schemes, or ransomware attacks. Scammers often use social engineering tactics, such as creating fake websites or social media accounts, to gain the trust of victims and lure them into investing or sharing their private information. Since crypto has been booming over the past few years, more and more people are vulnerable to these scams, especially when victims of most of these scams are merely a few clicks away on any social media website. Here are some stats that gauge the weight of how much money in crypto people have been losing in the past few years, and what those numbers will look like in the coming years.

A study by Chainplay.gg stated that over $30 billion was lost in crypto scams over the last ten years. That’s a massive number, considering $12 billion of that amount was lost in the last year itself. Over 673 counts of scams contributed to this gigantic sum of money that was stolen out of cryptocurrency wallets worldwide. Out of all global attacks on crypto wallets, the highest number of attacks were noted in the United States. On the other hand, the most amount of money (in US dollars) was scammed in Turkey. Furthermore, experts predict that 2023-2025 will be even more financially catastrophic, with 16 billion dollars poised to be lost in cryptocurrency scams in 2023 alone. This number is further estimated to rise to $20 billion by 2025. Despite such a huge amount of money lost to scams (and given the security detail of cryptocurrencies), merely one-fifth of the total amount has been recovered so far.

Crypto scams are common for several reasons. Firstly, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are relatively new and complex, which can make it difficult for the average person to understand and evaluate their risks. This lack of understanding can make people more vulnerable to scams and fraud. Secondly, the decentralized and anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can make it easier for scammers to operate without detection. Transactions can be difficult to trace and recover, making it challenging to identify and prosecute scammers. Lastly, the hype and speculation surrounding cryptocurrencies have attracted a lot of attention from investors seeking to get rich quickly, creating an environment where scams can thrive. Scammers often take advantage of people’s greed and FOMO (fear of missing out) to convince them to invest in fraudulent schemes.

This is all the more reason to stay vigilant and cautious when dealing with cryptocurrencies and to do your research before making any investments or sharing personal information.

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An Apple user who installed a fake app from the Apple Store has been left in distress. Phillipe Christodoulou had installed the Trezor wallet app on his iPhone and deposited his life savings of about $600,000 worth of Bitcoins, but later found his treasure, now worth over one million dollars, has been emptied, according to Bitcoin.com.

The fake app makers were able to evade scrutiny and the app was hosted on the Apple store. Those who installed the fake app would have thought it was from Trezor, an authentic manufacturer of hardware cryptocurrency wallets. Trezor had consistently said that it does not have an Android or iOS app and complained about the fake apps listed on the Apple store and Google Play store. In December 2020, the company warned Android users who owned a physical Trezor wallet that these apps were fake and should not be installed on their Android devices. It also stated that it had notified Google of these counterfeit apps to safeguard users’ Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Google promptly removed the Android version of the Trezor wallet back in December 2020.

Trezor has been warning its customers never to type their Bitcoins’ seed words on other websites without authorization from Trezor, as this could expose their savings to theft, stressing that seed words need to be guarded very well like a treasure.

Even though Apple continues to insist that its app store is one of the safest places to get an app, the particular case of Christodoulou has shown that that indeed is not the case. There is the need for the company to be more responsive and alive to its responsibilities to safeguard the resources of users of apps obtained from its app store.

Apple should also evolve a more robust approach to dealing with fake apps by quickly identifying such apps and removing them promptly. Christodoulou feels Apple betrayed the trust he previously had in the company and would want to see some punishment meted out on the tech giant.

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