The Crypto Romance AKA Butchered Pig
This is a typical romance scam, only that with the prevalence of cryptocurrencies it has been tweaked to fit into the sphere of investment and finance and sad to say a whole lot of victims and losses are recorded daily.
And as crazy as it sounds it is extremely difficult to retrieve those losses or even investigate the perpetrators of these scams.
The reason is that crypto transactions are non centralized or decentralized meaning transactions are stored in a publicly-available ledger.
And as crazy as it sounds it is extremely difficult to retrieve those losses or even investigate the perpetrators of these scams.
The reason is that crypto transactions are non centralized or decentralized meaning transactions are stored in a publicly-available ledger.
Transaction details stored here can only be used by an online fraud professional to investigate the destination of the transaction.
Why scammers use cryptocurrency ?
The fraudsters objective
How the scam works
How to protect yourself
Crypto is still in its infancy and it was created with the decentralization idea to finance hence the reason for a lack of widespread knowledge and the relative ease at which scammers leverage this method to receive fraudulent payments.
Due to the romance factor it is easier to con victims out of their hard-earned money as the emotions involved do not allow them to think rationally or do the needed research to spot these scams.
As they are shown testimonials of personal investments made and returns which look very attractive.
The main aim and objective of the scammer is to get the victim to love or feel emotionally bonded to them via the use of impersonation and like an investment plan have the victim in this scheme for as long as possible.
After getting the victims from dating sites or social media platforms the perpetrator makes sure their fake profile which consists of a stolen identity and fake profile information is attractive to the victims.
All the while making sure these people whose identities have been stolen know nothing about the scam this is the fraudster's main objective.
What the reader will learn
Why scammers use cryptocurrency ?
The fraudsters objective
How the scam works
How to protect yourself
Why scammers use cryptocurrency?
Crypto is still in its infancy and it was created with the decentralization idea to finance hence the reason for a lack of widespread knowledge and the relative ease at which scammers leverage this method to receive fraudulent payments.
Due to the romance factor it is easier to con victims out of their hard-earned money as the emotions involved do not allow them to think rationally or do the needed research to spot these scams.
As they are shown testimonials of personal investments made and returns which look very attractive.
The scammer's objectives
The main aim and objective of the scammer is to get the victim to love or feel emotionally bonded to them via the use of impersonation and like an investment plan have the victim in this scheme for as long as possible.
After getting the victims from dating sites or social media platforms the perpetrator makes sure their fake profile which consists of a stolen identity and fake profile information is attractive to the victims.
All the while making sure these people whose identities have been stolen know nothing about the scam this is the fraudster's main objective.
How this scam works
The scammers have sophisticated tools like love notes, fake calls and videos but the most dangerous tool of their trade is the fake websites usually created to look legitimate.
With tricks like testimonials, high return on investment updates and most of all fake accomplishments for instance an investment in a particular coin that made great returns.
This scam starts on dating websites and ends on the fake scammers website, the criminal scopes out likely victims and creates a romantic bond with them after successfully creating this bond the scammer moves on to the next phase of the scam.
The cybercriminal begins to show the victim their own personal returns on investments from cryptocurrency.
Saying that they are making a lot of money from a particular crypto investment and that the victim can also profit from the investment.
The victim accepts because of the emotional bond leveraged by the scammer.
The victim accepts because of the emotional bond leveraged by the scammer.
Who then provides the victim with a so-called crypto investment website created for this specific purpose by the scammer and operated by them.
When the victim visits the website they will be required to select one of many investment plans which are very attractive because of the return on investment rate.
As the investment plan gets higher the return on investment also increases making it almost too good to be true.
When the victim visits the website they will be required to select one of many investment plans which are very attractive because of the return on investment rate.
As the investment plan gets higher the return on investment also increases making it almost too good to be true.
The scammer uses the website as opposed to accepting a direct investment because they want to have plausible deniability when everything goes wrong.
Protective Measures
The golden rule of engagement online as regards relationships and money is to know the individual personally and should have met with them physically if you wish to send money.
if a face-to-face meeting isn't possible due to one or two circumstances the provision of irrefutable proof that they are who they say they are is required before money is sent out.
Research on the website like a whois search can provide more insights and questions about legitimacy of the scammer you can also use the website checker on our helpful tools page.
The method or means of sending the funds for investment is important because, if it is sent via crypto even though it is a crypto investment
It is very difficult to track and lost totally eventually.
The use of banks to transfer funds is there for a reason to keep you safe and provide accurate records which can be referenced for investigation purposes.
Are you intrigued by this article on how scams work? If yes, please spare a moment to share your thoughts by dropping a comment below.
Additionally, you can reach out to us to get an exclusive free consultation on how to stay safe and avoid such fraudulent traps.
Our team of experts is always available to guide you through the various scams and equip you with the necessary tools to protect yourself from being scammed.
So, why wait? Connect with us now and stay one step ahead of the scammers!
Tags:
romance scams