A quick introduction to the who, what and how of crypto scams.

Cryptocurrency scams are big business. Already this year more than 7200 people have reported being scammed out of their crypto with combined losses in excess of $115 million.

CoinJar has partnered with Scams Awareness Week to help shed some light on how crypto scams happen, who they happen to and how you can protect yourself.

Tell the world

This year the theme of Scams Awareness Week is Let’s Talk About Scams. Scams work by exploiting people’s blind spots and those blind spots grow because of the stigma of being scammed.

But scams don’t happen to other people. They happen to your friends, your family – even to you. Contrary to popular belief, scams are reported almost equally across all ages and demographics.

That’s why it’s so important to talk about it if you’ve been scammed. Tell a friend, tell us, tell the ACCC. (And if you’re struggling, tell Beyond Blue or Lifeline). You’re not only sharing the burden, you’re helping to protect others.

The three basic rules

Crypto is revolutionising money. It’s also revolutionising scams. However, the principles for protecting yourself remain simple:

1. Treat your CoinJar wallet like your bank account.
2. Never give anyone you don’t know access to your computer or account details.
3. If it sounds too good to be true, it definitely is.

Crypto scammers are continuously changing and refining their techniques, so the best thing you can do is approach everything involving your crypto with a healthy degree of skepticism.

If you’re unsure about something, contact CoinJar Support. We’re constantly monitoring suspicious wallets and websites and can help you work out whether something is a scam or not.

The week ahead

On Wednesday we’ll run through the three most common crypto scams, so you know what to look out for.

On Friday we’ll look at what you can do to protect your crypto – and the ways that CoinJar can help.

Stay safe,

CoinJar Team

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