HOW TO KNOW A BITCOIN SCAMMER IN NIGERIA.

Bitcoin is attractive to scammers for the same reason it’s attractive to you: it’s fast, it’s international, and it’s irreversible. So as Bitcoin usage has grown, we have seen more and more Bitcoin scammers disappear with user funds.

The following are some of the most persistent Bitcoin scams.

Bitcoin Ponzi, HYIP or MLM schemes

 



These schemes attract people with low or no subscription fees and promises of sky-high returns on their deposits. They often rely on existing investors signing up new ones, which is the only source of revenue or growth. As with all Ponzi schemes, early investors get paid with the money from later investors.

Inevitably when new investors stop signing up and depositing, the scheme collapses, since no more funds can be paid out.

What to look out for

These are some of the warning signs that you might be dealing with an illegal scheme:

Promises of very high returns/interestGuarantees that you “can’t lose money”Little verifiable information on company and ownersDifficulties in withdrawing your fundsSocial signup links with high bonusesSense of urgency to “invest now”

Bitcoin phishing scams

 



Phishing scams are common in the online world. This is when a scammer creates emails, messages, login pages and/or websites that resemble a legitimate company. Once users enter their information (like login username and password) on the fake website, the scammers have access to the users’ accounts. If it is an account where Bitcoin is stored, the scammers can easily make off with the money.

Where users have the same password used on multiple sites, the scammers can often gain access to other sites with more sensitive information.

How to prevent phishing scams

Don’t click on suspicious emailsEnsure the correct spelling of the website addressUse a unique, strong password for every website accountUse a reputable password management toolEnable two-factor authentication on sites that support itReport suspicious emails to your email provider (as phishing)Report suspicious websites to the respective web hosting company

Bitcoin mining scams

 



Bitcoin is generated through the process of mining, which confirms Bitcoin transactions on the Blockchain. Mining requires great amounts of energy, expensive equipment and upfront capital. Bitcoin mining investments emerged out of this need, whereby many users can invest in a mining scheme and get a percentage of future mining proceeds.

There are some legitimate Bitcoin mining schemes, but there are far more mining scams than legitimate outfits. Since it is difficult for most investors to confirm if a mining scheme actually owns mining gear (or does any mining at all), there are many websites that claim to mine but simply take investor funds, pay high returns for a while to build trust and then simply disappear.

Avoiding mining scams

These are some of the things to be on the lookout for:

Inability to see or verify the proof of ownership of any mining equipmentInability to see or verify their public mining address and ownershipNew website (look it up witharchive.org)High referral commissionsGuaranteed profits

Bitcoin wallet and exchange scams

 



There are some websites claiming to be wallets meant to store Bitcoin. Others claim to be exchanges, where one can trade Bitcoin. Others yet claim to do both, but many of these are in fact scam sites.

They simply get users to sign up and deposit Bitcoin or local currency for a while to build trust and then after a while make off with the money.

Things to be on the lookout for

Only deal with reputable, registered companiesMake sure you can verify the identity of the employees/ownersSee if they are mentioned in reputablelocal or international news publicationsTreat anonymous and new exchanges, apps and browser extensions with caution

List of known Bitcoin scams

Since it is very easy to set up a scam website, it is impossible to always have an up to date list of scams. Y

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