Over the past year, Russians have increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies, notably stablecoins, for cross-border transfers and payments amid financial restrictions and sanctions. However, scammers have begun to exploit this situation, writes Forbes.
The publication highlighted the three most common scams to watch for when buying and selling digital assets.
One of them is called the ‘triangle’. It can be encountered when searching for the most favourable exchange rate on the sites of major exchanges or in Telegram chats.
The fraudster, who conducts the correspondence on behalf of a crypto exchange, after agreeing to the deal contacts the real platform and says that a courier with cash will arrive. In the end the victim hands over the money on site and sends their wallet details in Telegram, in a chat with the attacker. The attacker, in turn, sends the company their own address.
This scheme targets beginners. Scammers often create sites that resemble popular crypto exchanges or post advertisements in their name in Telegram chats.
However, even when using exchange P2P services you can fall victim to the ‘fishing’ tactic. The cryptocurrency buyer sets the most attractive deal price, and after that quickly changes it to a less favourable one. The attacker’s plan in this case relies on the user’s inattention.
Sometimes to lull beginners into complacency, scammers offer to perform a test trade for a small amount on P2P platforms. It goes through successfully, often at a favourable rate. When the victim agrees to a larger transfer, the scammer sends them cryptocurrency, but withdraws the deal as soon as rubles are credited to the account, before the P2P platform confirms the transaction.
Aferysts continually refine their tricks — there are known cases of imitating money transfers using counterfeit checks, proposing to conduct deals outside P2P platforms to save on fees, and even creating accounts resembling the exchange’s technical support.
There is no precise data yet on the number of victims in Russia.
Earlier ForkLog reported that after the ban on currency operations in Russia, the black crypto market has intensified.