Following the crypto winter, the general crypto market is now experiencing a rally. This, however, has led to some investors falling victim to scam sites due to their eagerness to recover their investment losses. In an effort to help mitigate this, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) launched a crypto scam tracker.
An Innovation to Curb Crypto Scams
Investors may be tempted to reply to one of the numerous crypto sales pitches that appear in their inbox and browser, hoping that it’s a true rally given how well the broader crypto market has been performing lately. Nevertheless, before gambling with their money, they need to check out the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s brand-new website.
The DFPI’s Crypto Scam Tracker, which was introduced on Thursday, is a searchable database of complaints the agency has gathered regarding cryptocurrency promises that are likely castles built in the sky. It’s similar to a database of negative platform reviews because the complaints have just been evaluated by the agency and not validated. Nonetheless, it can be a useful tool for digital currency traders in three different ways.
First, investors can easily use the tool to search for customer reviews of the platform or website they’re keen on working with. This will help them ascertain if anyone else has previously worked with the platform, and if so, how did it go for them? However, scam websites are often ephemeral. They frequently appear and vanish, so the absence of complaints does not necessarily mean they are genuine.
Investors can also look up words that feature in a sales pitch the scammers may have used in corresponding with them. For instance, users can search for words like “deposit” or “withdrawal” and check if other users may have experienced difficulty in pulling their funds from the platform.
The DFPI’s website will also help them identify parallels between the deal made to them and the complaints made by other customers.
Finally, the website has a glossary showing different scams that are being perpetrated in the crypto market.
According to the DFPI, fake websites are among the most reported scams. The agency warned that some of the listed businesses or websites might have names that are similar to those of other businesses or websites that are active in the market. This may mislead customers to fall for similar-sounding or visually similar names.
However, the site’s ability to identify trends in the actions of crypto ripoff artists may be its greatest strength. A recurring element in the complaints is fraudulent activity by websites with names that only differ by a few letters from well-known crypto brands.
Elizabeth Smith, a DFPI spokesperson, was satisfied with the response from users. The reviews from consumers stated that receiving scam notifications helped them stay away from similar scams. Smith hopes that Californians will use this service as a resource before they make financial decisions or are targeted by fraudsters, preventing them from becoming victims in the future. Investors are also encouraged to report scams since doing so helps DFPI keep all Californians safe. There are currently about 36 reports on the website.
A Tale of the Coin FTX Victim
There were several reports of victims falling for imposter sites on the DFPI website. One of the standout reports was that of a victim who fell for a fake site called Coin FTX, which impersonated FTX.
The victim was reported to be communicating in a WhatsApp group with two people, Mr. Colin Rusch and Ms. Anne. These two claimed to be Bitcoin and Ethereum investors. The group linked the victim to a website called coinftx.io, claiming it was an international crypto market. They also provided the victim with an investment plan that outlined when everyone should invest in cryptocurrencies and the expected profits.
After some time, Ms. Anne requested an increase in the capital the victim had put up in order to improve her earnings. The victim invested more than $50,000 after two or three months and thought her account was worth over $200,000, but she was unable to withdraw her money when she tried. The business ran the https://coinftx.io website.
With the DFPI’s initiative, crypto investors can rest assured and support genuine projects like C+Charge and Metropoly.
C+Charge aims to provide a payment infrastructure via its CCHG token for EV charging stations. On the other hand, Metropoly provides a 1 to 1 tokenized real estate that users can own with as little as $100. With Metropoly, users can earn monthly property income and sell their shares anytime they need.
Both projects are currently in their presale stages, and early-bird investors can grab the project tokens at a discount.
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