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Last year, the loss from fraudulent projects in the digital asset market exceeded $ 14 billion. How cybercriminals work and why they will increase in number
PeckShield analysts have published a list of 50 potentially fraudulent tokens on the Binance Smart Chain. Projects were selected based on the fact that their administrators can issue an unlimited number of coins, blacklist users and restrict the ability to sell tokens.
In November last year, the deputy board of Sber, Stanislav Kuznetsov, reported that Russians began to encounter cryptocurrency fraud more often at the stage of the initial token offering (ICO). According to Kuznetsov, investing in such assets, users then cannot get their money back.
Attackers send out a message offering to invest in a new cryptocurrency. The letter contains a link to payment. After the victim transfers funds, the scammers stop communicating.
Attackers do not sleep
In 2021, scammers stole digital assets worth a record $ 14 billion. Losses from crimes related to cryptocurrencies increased by 79% compared to 2020.
The largest number of crimes in the field of cryptocurrency fell on fraud, followed by theft, most of which are the result of hacking blockchain projects. Chainalysis noted that the decentralization of DeFi is the reason for the sharp increase in fraud and theft.
There will be no less fraud
The number of new participants in the crypto market is regularly growing and will increase in the future, says Andrey Podolyan, CEO of Cryptorg. According to him, this means that there are more potential victims for fraudsters, which lures cybercriminals into the industry.
“It’s getting harder for fraudsters to work. But there are decentralized exchanges and wallets that they can easily use for their own purposes. Therefore, I do not expect that there will be less fraud, ”Podolyan said.
In 2022, fraudsters will have a high, but not a record level of funds, says Viktor Pershikov, a leading analyst at 8848 Invest. In his opinion, the current year is unlikely to be marked by extreme growth in the crypto market, as a result of which market participants will not be subject to carelessness and inattention amid euphoria.
It is also possible that regulators may go on the offensive in the digital asset market, the analyst predicted. In his opinion, because of this, fraudsters will have fewer opportunities for illegal actions.
“It is impossible to argue that regulators will completely clear the market from fraudsters and put things in order, since digital assets represent many ways to escape supervision and control by the authorities,” added Pershikov.
– The analyst found the “cross of death” pattern on the bitcoin chart
– The head of the IC called for the introduction of mandatory identification of cryptocurrency holders
– Fidelity Investments called the level of $ 40 thousand the bottom of the bitcoin correction
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