The United States Federal Trade Commission is going to speak in Chicago about cryptocurrency scams during a workshop that it scheduled for June 25, 2018.
During the “Decrypting Cryptocurrency Scams” workshop, the FTC hopes to address how scams like these exploit the recent upsurge in demand for digital currencies and how customers can be protected from them. Attendees will include members of law enforcement, consumer interest groups, researchers, and relevant industry operators.
“As consumer interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin has grown, scammers have reportedly become more active in this area. Reported scams include deceptive investment and business opportunities, bait-and-switch schemes, and deceptively marketed mining machines. The FTC has continued its efforts to educate consumers about cryptocurrencies and hold fraudsters accountable,” the organization wrote in its announcement.
Just over a month ago, the FTC shut down a “chain recruitment” scam based on Bitcoin called My7Network. The scam worked by promising its potential customers that they can make “a fortune” if they invest in one of three Bitcoin plans, each of them requiring that purchasers recruit others into the whole ordeal.
Supposedly, people who paid 0.046 BTC into the “Mini” plan would get back 0.26 BTC if they recruited at least 14 others into the scheme. It’s “the scam that keeps on scamming” because individuals would effectively have to scam others in order to make a profit, if they ever do get paid.
Scams like these market themselves aggressively on YouTube, taking advantage of people’s ignorance about cryptocurrencies to sell them on an offer that is too good to be true. The get-rich-quick mentality of many who invest in Bitcoin only helps these scams perpetuate further. As the market matures, however, we might see these scams slowly start to fade into obscurity like the “Nigerian prince” scams of the 90s.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
