CRYPTOACADEMY SEASON 3 WEEK 6 HOME-WORK POST FOR BY @wonderbowy FOR @YOHAN2ON : CRYPTO SCAMS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM.

INTRODUCTION

This week brings us another great teachers from great professors on this community. I happen to attend the lectures by @yohan2on which happens to be an interesting one. I really enjoyed it because he has really drawn my attention to some some risk of loosing our valuable cryptos to scammers. That is not all he talked about but also some measures one can put in places to avoid being a victim. it was actually a good call most importantly those of us who has some cryptos in our wallets. not only that but to those who are into crypto full time. This brings us this weeks task which i am very happy to take part in because its show how much knowledge i have absorbed from the class.
Now lets go straight into the various tasks;

1. What are Crypto scams?

In recent times cryptocurrencies are all over the place making some hot cakes on the international market. cryptocurrencies are changing lives of individuals all over the world. talking how good something is brings into mind how some unscrupulous individuals manipulate the system to take advantage of others. They can create fake websites with all sort of information just to lure innocent investors into it, take their funds and then disappear into thin air. This form of dubious act is what we refer to as crypto scams. There are so many forms of crypto scams which thanks to prof @yhohan2on made mention of, some which includes;

• FAKRE CRYPTO APPS;

There are all sort of crypto wallets on the play store which them claim to be good and holding cryptocurrencies but turns out to be scams. They either imitate the original or create something similar so if care is not taken one could download fake wallet thinking its original and if not luck and you deposit funds there, then that's the end. Although measures are put in please by the google teams to eliminate these fakes apps then still find their way back into the system. In order to stay safe, one is advised to download only the prescribed app from the original source.

• MAIL SCAMS;
  Scammers found a way to scam crypto traders through emails. they send emails pretending to be the original source. These links can be phishing and takes the victim to there fishy site when one clicks on it.

• PHISHING SITES
  Fake sites are created by scammers to trick their victims in revealing their security codes and other credentials. They do this by simply changing certain part of the original websites link. in this way it becomes very difficult for the victim to tell the difference between the fake link and the original. So you can be on the fake sites entering all your personal details without noticing it because the links looks very simple but not the same. An example is the links below;

FAKE LINK	THE ORIGINAL
www.steem!t.com	www.steemit.com
http://steemit.com/wonderbowypost	https://steemit.com/wonderbowypost
www.bitc0in.com	www.bitcoin.com

From the example above you can see that there are slit changes in all the links but they all look similar when comparing the original with the fake. Until you taken a close look at them it might seem them same. Therefore its much advising to take close look at this kinks before any detailed information is entered on them.

• SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS
  Scammers finds ways to hack social media influencers account especially those who are into crypto currencies. Some also uses this influencers name to create another account for their bad work. After this is done, they then use it to promote their fake projects and ICOS to the mass public. Which they later collect funds from the public promising them something big in return.
  Make your research on any Cryptocurrency scam. (Attach a few references to the news surrounding that scam crypto project)

• PONZI SCHEMES/AMOUNT DOUBLES
  These are the works of crypto scammers. what they do is form a team of at least 5 individuals. They can create whatsApp group and with it invites lots of people into it. One will intentional send cryptocurrencies to the other and he or she will then testify in the group that his or her money has been doubled after payment was made. another will also testify and that's how it keeps on moving. And it wont be surprised all this guys testifying are part of the scamming team. They can give some ridiculous amount of ROI. Examples include 100% back in 24 hours, 200% back in 2 days of investment.

Make your research on any Cryptocurrency scam. (Attach a few references to the news surrounding that scam crypto project)

This was an incident which happened in South Africa and recorded as one of the biggest scam ever.
It was some Some South African brother who manged to get away with 3.6 Billion worth of bitcoin. The investors in turn hired lawyers to handle the case that they could not find the brothers. The Henekom Attorneys made their investigates and came to a conclusion that the brothers of Africript had transferred some founds from African accounts and that of the wallets of the clients. That the coins were transferred through tumbers and mixers just to make them untraceable. It will be recorded in the history of South African as big crypto scam.

2. To what extent have Crypto scams affected the Crypto space?
Crypto scam can affect the individual/investor in many ways both mental and physical. If one should fall a victim it will definitely take some time to get over it. This is meanly because its involves lots of money sometimes and also the expectations of good profit in return a disaster. Well, I will like to give some points and talk on the extents at which it can affect the crypto space as a whole.

• 1. CAPITAL LOSS;
  As i mentioned earlier the is a high possibility of huge capital lots because some ICOS can be very promising when one takes a look at the their whitepaper or roadmap. This can trigger a very high trust in the project making the investor invest more than necessary. Such investors are HIGH TOLERANCE TO RISK as we have learnt in the previous season. When an investor looses some money it can deter them from the crypto ecosystem and look else where to invest their assets. They can try other investments such as the banks, buying of bonds, treasury bills etc just to stay on the safer side. A persistence increase in this case may force investors out gradually which can decrease the worth or value in the crypto ecosystem.

• 2. UNCERTAINTY SETS IN
  The fear of uncertainty sets into the ecosystem. Investors who fall victims to such to scam due to uncertainty may testily to the outside world and this could scare away potential investors. That making it very difficult to get newbies on board to invest their assets in order to provide liquidity or even push prices high.

• 3. RAISING ISSUES INVOLVING REGULATION OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES

The rising issues of crypto scams around some part of the world has really brought the attention of some authorities to put regulations on the uses of cryptocurrencies. Recently i heard of china putting a band on transfer of bitcoin from and out of the country for some reasons of problems crypto is generating within the country. Which ofcus I wont be surprised if crypto scam was part of the reasons. It was a rumor though and I didn't know how it ended. Some African country's National Bank like Central Bank of Nigeria also made a threat to close down accounts that are being connected with crypto.

3. Will regulations in Crypto add value to the Crypto space?

Cryptocurrencies was designed on a decentralized platform basis, and if regulations are now integrated then I think its gradually diversifying from it intended purpose of creation. Nevertheless new updates are always made to curb certain situations. On my view if regulations could be put in place it will definitely help in curbing this fraudulent acts but the question is can cryptocurrencies ever be regulated? Is there any possibilities of regulating cryptocurrencies?
To be frank I doubt it if it was possible it would have been employed long time ago by our leaders or the government in particular. These authorities would have taken the pleasure in doing it because the profit they will be getting from it would have been enough for them than even taxes.

Cryptocurrencies where created on decentralized basis making it very difficult for third party interference which was a very great initiative until some people have taken advantage to scam others.

Look, crypto is as safe as you can think provided you do enough research and investigations. Also anything that involves profit comes with risk, just know how to play it safe. Not necessary staying on the side line but as i said earlier proper research and investigations needs to been done before one gets into any crypto investments.

CONCLUSION

Thanks to prof. @yohan2on for this weeks lectures, very brief but effective. It was actually an eye opener for those who are new to cryptocurrencies. This will make them very alert and careful whenever they are venturing into any crypto investments.

From what i have learnt in this class, I will say crypto scam is real and happening all over the world but all the same, measures can be put in place to avoid all these scams.

THANK YOU