[ad_1]
A man from Utah who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to a cryptocurrency scam spoke about his experience.
Brandon Larsen downloaded what he believed to be a legitimate cryptocurrency app associated with a website he uses, CBS affiliate KUTV reported. Larsen later found out that the app was bogus and that she had stolen her information.
“Unfortunately, it was a similar app and I gave access to my digital wallet to a hacker,” he told the broadcaster.
Larsen lost $ 384,006 to scammers. He said he did not expect to get his money back as it can be difficult to trace such transactions. He told KUTV: “I shed a lot of tears, I’m not going to lie.”
Its story comes as cryptocurrency, a digital-only form of money, has exploded in popularity in recent months.
Apart from scammers, experts have previously told Newsweek that investing in cryptocurrency is very risky due to the volatile nature of the market.
In addition to the risks inherent in cryptocurrencies, the booming industry is also used by crooks to target people. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission said scammers are taking advantage of the cryptocurrency buzz, including encouraging people to make bogus investments.
Between October 2020 and May 2021, nearly 7,000 people lost $ 80 million to such scams, losing an average of $ 1,900. This was a 12-fold peak compared to the same period the year before.
Larsen also cautioned against being fooled by fraudulent videos online. He said, “He will say ‘we’re doing a promotion right now where we’re going to double your cryptocurrency.’ So send us 10 and we’ll send you 20. You send 10 and you never see it again. . You have to be very careful with who you trust in cryptocurrency. “
The Coinbase home page is displayed on an iPhone screen on April 14, 2021 in Paris, France. A fake app cost a victim $ 384,006. Illustration photo by Chesnot / Getty Images
Christopher Leach of the Federal Trade Commission told CBS affiliate KMOV4 about online ads promising to triple the investment of someone asking users to give them cryptocurrency.
“A lot of times what happens is, poof, the cryptocurrency is gone when you try to take it out of the investment fund,” he said.
Other crooks pose as celebrities, according to Leach. Last month, for example, a woman explained that she lost £ 9,000 (around $ 12,500) after being duped by a fake news article.
The article mistakenly claimed that Elon Musk, the SpaceX billionaire and Tesla CEO who often tweeted about cryptocurrency, was giving Bitcoin a giveaway.
Despite his experience, Larsen was not put off by investing in cryptocurrency.
“There is still a huge opportunity to make money in crypto, and I will always take advantage of it,” he said.
[ad_2]
picture credit