Crypto monitoring service Whale Alert has published a report showing that crypto scammers are responsible for $24 million in bitcoin theft through the first half of the year, including the exploitation of YouTube advertising.
According to the report “Chasing Crypto Criminals” published July 10, cyber-thieves are finding easy prey in the form of bitcoin and other crypto-asset investors. Whale Alert summarized its exhaustive reviews of hundreds of websites and thousands of reports of theft as “crypto crime pays. A lot.”
Whale Alert claimed there was little risk involved for crypto-based criminals, despite the massive economic impact being imposed on victims. The report confirmed at least $38 million in bitcoin alone being stolen via scams over the past four years, excluding the use of Ponzi schemes.
The report reads,
Some of the most successful scams made over $130,000 in a single day with nothing more than a one page website, a bitcoin address and a decent amount of YouTube advertising.
Whale Alert outlined another scam which brought in $1.5 million over six months through promoting a fake cryptocurrency exchange. The report claims the advertisement took victims to an “amateurish website riddled with spelling errors,” before tricking users into depositing their funds.
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