The biggest crypto scams in 2022 (so far)

by · July 5, 2022

We are only six months into 2022 and billions of dollars in cryptocurrency have already been looted and looted.

While the value of stolen cryptocurrency is fantastic, it’s not all about money. Last year, Mashable watched largest crypto fraud in 2021. Yes, some big money was distributed through various scams and schemes included in that list. Sometimes, however, it is the audacity and uniqueness of some of these scams and hacks – committed by people who just walk away with six numbers worth of stolen crypto – is worth mentioning.

So, without further ado, here are some of the biggest and boldest scams, scams and rackets in cryptocurrency from 2022 so far.

1. Ukraine’s carpet attracts donors (with good reason!)

One of these scams is not like the others, and it is this: When the government of Ukraine withdrew its donors. However, it must be included because it is honestly so great: a rare “good” scam.

In February 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainian government quickly decided to accept donations in the form of cryptocurrencies to take advantage of the large pockets in the cryptocurrency space that are always out to pump their coins and generate good press.

While a decent number of donations first came in, the crypto began to flow in after Ukraine announced one airdrop to those who donated through the Ethereum network. An airdrop is basically when holders of crypto wallets receive freebies, usually in the form of crypto tokens or NFTs. As Ukraine said, they mainly sent donors a “reward” for donating.

Go into the bad actors. People started sending a lot of crypto donations to Ukraine to take advantage of the air drop. Around 60,000 transactions were made on the Ethereum blockchain to Ukraine in less than 2 days. According to Ukrainian officials, individuals began sending minimal sums of money just so they could register in time to receive the airdrop. Apparently, these people were looking to make money on a country in wartime by receiving a “reward” that is more valuable than what they donated to turn around freebies for quick profits.

Ukraine decided to Cancel airdrop, just days after it was announced. Some donors looking for these profits shouted “fraud.” And technically, this is what is known as a carpet cover. A backlash is when a crypto developer promises to raise money, and then leave the project while he leaves with all the liquidity.

But this is a completely unique situation. Ukraine tried to raise money, thought it would thank donors who meant well, and then withdrew when they realized that people were trying to take advantage of the situation. However, the donations went to a charity. So let’s call this a blanket for good. And that’s why it’s at the top of the list.

2. Axie Infinity hacked, $ 615 million stolen

Would you notice if any stole $ 615 million from you? Sky Mavis, the company behind the most popular crypto game Axie Infinity probably not!

In March, hackers discovered an exploit on the Ronin blockchain, which is the Ethereum-based side chain that Axie Infinity running on. To make matters worse, the exploitation was a result of what was supposed to be a temporary change initiated by Sky Mavis in December that lowered the security protocols. Things were not returned, and the hackers were able to take advantage of the situation only months later.

How did Sky Mavis finally discover that they were missing hundreds of millions of dollars? A user tried to withdraw his money and failed because the liquidity was no longer there.

Axie Infinity is a game to earn crypto game that requires users to purchase expensive NFTs before playing. Once they have acquired these NFTs, they can earn real money in the form of crypto by playing the game. However, due to the high entry costs, users who cannot afford the NFTs often find that they are wrapped up in exploitative “scholarships” that require them to share the profits with other users who lend these high cost NFTs that are necessary to play. .

Still, in countries like the Philippines, games to earn games like Axie Infinity has become popular as users can earn the equivalent of an average salary in their country. Unfortunately, these users found out that their income was unavailable due to the hack.

Axie Infinity has since raised $ 125 million to reimburse users for stolen funds. But that is far from the $ 625 million they lost. As for that money, they’ll probably never get it back. The US government believes that the hack was carried yout by a group based in North Korea.

Day of Defeat, red flags everywhere

Does an investment that promises a 10,000,000 x price increase sound too good to be true for you? No, my zero key was not stuck. That’s exactly what the Day of Defeat token promised. And many bought in.

Molly White is the creator of Web3 is doing well, a website that tracks all the scams and annoyances in the room daily. When I approached her to see what crypto scams have been her so far this year, she pointed me to The day of defeat. She called it one of the projects with “some of the biggest red flags I’ve ever seen. “And she’s seen a lot.

The developers of Day of Defeat called the project a “radical social experiment” that was “mathematically designed to give proprietors 10,000,000X PRICE INCREASE.” On top of that, they launched a “Mystery Plan” (come on!) That was to be rolled out in June next year which will cause the price of the token to increase by 1,000,000. In a FAQ on the Day of the Defeat website, they answered a question regarding their access to the fund, which they said they would “promise” not to redeem. A promise!

Well, guess what? It seems that they broke that promise. In May, the project blanket pulled after $ 1.35 million was pulled out, causing the token’s value to fall by more than 96 percent. As Molly pointed out, it is unlikely that even those who got away with the $ 1.35 million did not see the insane returns promised. If they did, their investment would be less than 14 cents.

4. The BBC tricked in promoting alleged crypto scammers

Everyone loves a rag-to-wealth story. Apparently the BBC loved this one so much that they could not look at the person in question, who exchanged his rags for wealth by crypto fraud.

In February, the BBC published an article about a local crypto investor in Birmingham, Hanad Hassan. The play claimed that Hassan put 50 pounds in crypto last year and was able to turn it into millions! That was not all. The article also covered how Hassan wanted to use his newfound wealth to help people in society.

One problem: the Internet was full of people claiming Hassan had defrauded them.

In April 2021, Hassan launched a “charity token” called Orfano. In addition to being a crypto investment, it would set aside 3 percent of the funds to support charity projects. This is a common tactic in the crypto carpet pulls to make investors feel that they are doing something legitimate and good with their money. Months later, Orfano abruptly struck down, taking with it everyone’s investments. There was no way for users to withdraw any of their money.

One month later, Hassan relaunched Orfano as OrfanoX and did the same with new investors in this token. And now the BBC was to announce his “happiness!”

The story is so ridiculous, it was one of them first recommended to me by David Gerard, a cryptocurrency critic and author of the book “Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain.”. According to Gerard, the BBC not only ran a “puff piece” on the crypto scammer Hanad Hassan, but they also produced a 30-minute documentary about him with the title, We Are England: Birmingham’s self-made cryptomillionaire. The scheduled shipment was just drawn hours before it was to be sent in February.

While Hassan’s crypto fraud took place in 2021, he pulled wool over the eyes of the BBC just this year. He really tricked them into spinning his story. A scam in a scam. Scam!

5. Seth Green’s stolen Bored Monkey

Actor Seth Green’s monkeys were stolen. The Robot Chicken creator had his entire NFT collection removed after Green fell for a phishing scam in May. Green’s NFT losses included his Bored Ape Yacht Club # 8398, two Mutant Apes, another NFT project by Bored Ape Yacht Club creators Yuga Labs, and a Doodle NFT.

But look, Green lost more than just the estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars in resale value of its NFTs. The actor has been working on a comic series called White Horse Tavern which has different NFT characters throughout the show. However, the star of the series is Bored Ape # 8398, which Green called Fred Simian.

Holders of chained monkeys own an IP license for their particular monkeys and can do with them whatever they want: selling goods, making video games, developing a sitcom – anything and everything. And that was the problem for Green. He did not keep his monkey, the one who stole his Bored Monkey sold it in the aftermarket to a collector, which meant that Seth Green no longer had the rights to Fred Simian.

Fortunately for Green, he was recently able to do that get his Bored Monkey backAt a price of $ 297,000. That is correct. He paid for Bored Ape twice, a six-figure price each time.

If you are familiar with the non-fungible token space, you may be thinking to yourself: NFTs are stolen fairly regularly. Hell, Yuga Labs’ social platforms were compromised just this monthwhich resulted in Bored Ape owners losing more than Seth Green did.

So why focus on Green’s case? I can not think of another NFT-related scam this year that reveals the industry’s multifaceted flaws. A celebrity had his NFTs and intellectual property stolen in a crypto scam and the did not know what to do. In the end, they had to resort to just buying back their stolen property! What is you are you going to do anything about it if this happens to you too?

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