Scam is the highest-grossing type of cryptocurrency-based crime. However, whole scam revenue for cryptocurrencies declined from round $9 billion to below $2.7 billion in 2020, as per Chainalysis crypto crime report. Interestingly, the report claimed that the variety of particular person funds to scam addresses rose from over 5 million to 7.3 million, suggesting an increase of over 48% in the variety of particular person scam victims.
Data from the report confirmed six ponzi schemes accounted for almost $7 billion value of cryptocurrency in 2019, which was greater than double of what all scam classes made in 2020. To be famous that ponzi scheme PlusToken scam had accounted for round $3 billion value of cryptocurrency, from its victims.
As per the report, in 2020, almost all scam associated revenues have been directed in direction of small-scale funding scams. 2020’s greatest scam was carried out by the community advertising firm Mirror Trading International (MTI). Presenting itself as a passive revenue supply, it obtained $589 million value of cryptocurrency throughout greater than 470,000 transactions. It was utilizing a cryptocurrency playing service as a cash laundering and money out mechanism, which obtained $39 million value of cryptocurrency from the scam in 2020. Additionally, an investigation revealed that the corporate had over 16,000 Bitcoin of claimed buyer funding funds which have been unaccounted for.
While phishing scams contributed a really small share of total scam revenue in 2020, the Ledger phishing scam had a excessive variety of potential victims. According to CoinTelegraph, Ledger customers misplaced 1.1 million XRP inside the first week of the phishing marketing campaign. Stolen belongings from the Ledger scam amounted to over 3 million in euro forex.
Insights from the report confirmed that scammers directed a big share of the cryptocurrency from victims in direction of exchanges and different providers. Additionally, scam proceeds despatched to mixers and high-risk exchanges, with weak compliance packages, noticed an increase in share.
(With insights from the Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report, 2021)
https://www.financialexpress.com/digital-currency/cryptocurrency-scam-victims-increase-while-revenue-from-scams-decrease-75-in-2020-report/2516177/
