Coinbase raises the alarm about scams with crypto investments going haywire
American cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has raised concerns over the rise in the number of romance investment scams called “pig slaughter” or “Sha zu pan”.
This type of scam occurs when a scammer searches for victims through dating apps and social media and builds “trust with their victim, sometimes over a long period of weeks or months.”
The Coinbase Global Investigations, Trust & Safety, and Threat Intelligence Teams expressed concern about the growing popularity of this scam in a security PSA released Thursday.
Coinbase explained: “Recently, there has been a notable increase in scams purporting to be foreign exchanges or crypto-trading platforms spread by fraudsters using dating apps to lure victims.
“While investment scams and romance scams are not unique to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the irreversible nature of cryptocurrency transactions can make these scams devastating.”
However, the publicly traded company noted that it works closely with law enforcement actors around the world to protect its customers from various forms of targeted cyber attacks.
Modus Operandi
For this type of scam, Coinbase explained that fraudsters typically claim to have received huge financial gains from a cryptocurrency investment and convince victims to also invest in such schemes.
Other times, the scam may come in the form of offers to teach victims how to trade successfully.
The distributed company explained: “Victims are asked to visit a fraudulent website that often looks like a legitimate trading platform and guided to deposit money into an account controlled by the fraudster.
“Some victims even receive a small amount of funds that are claimed to be ‘returns’ on their investment to entice them to invest even larger sums.
“When the victim tries to withdraw money from the website, they are told that they owe a tax payment or service fee before their money will be released in an attempt to further extort money from them.”
Coinbase noted that its teams identify and add addresses associated with fraud to its products’ blocklists to protect customers.
The exchange urged users to be on guard against this type of fraud.
American cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has raised concerns over the rise in the number of romance investment scams called “pig slaughter” or “Sha zu pan”.
This type of scam occurs when a scammer searches for victims through dating apps and social media and builds “trust with their victim, sometimes over a long period of weeks or months.”
The Coinbase Global Investigations, Trust & Safety, and Threat Intelligence Teams expressed concern about the growing popularity of this scam in a security PSA released Thursday.
Coinbase explained: “Recently, there has been a notable increase in scams purporting to be foreign exchanges or crypto-trading platforms spread by fraudsters using dating apps to lure victims.
“While investment scams and romance scams are not unique to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the irreversible nature of cryptocurrency transactions can make these scams devastating.”
However, the publicly traded company noted that it works closely with law enforcement actors around the world to protect its customers from various forms of targeted cyber attacks.
Modus Operandi
For this type of scam, Coinbase explained that fraudsters typically claim to have received huge financial gains from a cryptocurrency investment and convince victims to also invest in such schemes.
Other times, the scam may come in the form of offers to teach victims how to trade successfully.
The distributed company explained: “Victims are asked to visit a fraudulent website that often looks like a legitimate trading platform and guided to deposit money into an account controlled by the fraudster.
“Some victims even receive a small amount of funds that are claimed to be ‘returns’ on their investment to entice them to invest even larger sums.
“When the victim tries to withdraw money from the site, they are told that they owe a tax payment or service fee before their money will be released in an attempt to further extort money from them.”
Coinbase noted that its teams identify and add addresses associated with fraud to its products’ blocklists to protect customers.
The exchange urged users to be on guard against this type of fraud.
