15. October 2023

Scam prevention

ismynt.is

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Frauds in the world have bee increasing exponentially in the last couple of years, to the point that you could call it an epedemic. Involved are trillion of dollars that are landing in the hands of criminal organizations. This has had a devistating effect on the reputation of the cryptocurrencies industry, and many of these frauds utilize cryptocurrencies to hide theyr trail. And some frauds mask as a legitimate cryptocurrency project.

How do we detect frauds?

Many if ismynt's customers have been scammed and have enquired us about how to determine the legitimacy of websites, apps and projects. We have therefore compiled a list of things that are good to keep in mind when you are determining if a project should be trusted.

1. Email sent from domains that look like legitimate domains.

   When a scammer send emails to prospected victim, it is very common for them to use email domains that look similar to legitimate domains. A good way to detect these is by taking a close look at the domain part of the email, tha part that comes after the @ symbol, and verify that it is exactly the same as the legitimate business they claim to be.

2. They want you to install AnyDesk to take over your computer or phone.

   It is very common that the scammers try to get you to install AnyDesk or similar application that gives them full control over your phone or your computer. This is a big red flag that you are being scammed.

3. They direct you to a website that looks just like the real thing.

   Scammers often have access to copy-cat websites that look excactly like the legitimate website and seem trustworthy. You can detect these by looking at the URI of the website in your browser and verify it against the real website.

4. Formerly unknown person invites you to invest in a new project/website.

   If a person that you have not known before, contacts you on social media and asks you to register or invest in a formerly unknown project or website, you should be vary. You should start by querying the website/project on our a fraud search engine (at bottom of page) or a similar database to get an idea of the legitimacy of the website. Even if you get a positive result from the database qurey you should always be vary as scammers have use social media extensivly to contact theyr victims.

5. It uses complex tech jargon

   This applies to all investments. If it cannot be explained to you in simple terms so that you clearly understand what you are investing in, than it might be better to hold tight. Common tech-jargon used by scammers include: defi-mining, trading-bots, ICOs etc. These terms can be valid in a certain context, but if you are not certain about how theyr are being applied, you should be very skeptical.

6. If something sounds too good to be true, than it often is.

   Nobody is going to give you free money for nothing. If somebody is offering a magical solution that creates money from nothing than it is very likely a scam.

7. High or frequent interrests

   If interrests are very frequent, fx. 1% a day, than that would result in 3700% a year. This is clearly unsustainable and impossible that anyone can maintain. Be very skeptical.

Common scams

Below is a list of common scams to be aware of.

1. Direct calls from an icelandic number

   Recently there have been many cases of attempted frauds being performed through direct calls to the victims phone from an icelandic phonenumber. The person speaks english and offers an a fake investment opportunity. These fraudsters have guided people through the registration process at ismynt and than show them how to withdraw funds to their wallets. These funds can almost never be recovered once they are withdrawn from ismynt.

2. To recover your high deposit, you must first give us money

   It has been a very popular method to convince the victim that they own a large amount of cryptocurrencies that they can get access to if they only send the fraudsters some money. This is usually done by withdrawing cryptocurrencies from ismynt to a wallet they claim is owned by the victim. This kind of lock up of funds is never legitimate, and is never done by legitimate businesses. If it is the case that you own a large amount of cryptocurrencies, the company will simply deduct any fees from it before giving you access to it. This is a clear and simple scam.

3. Scam site is advertised on google search results

   It is a common scam method to buy ad space at the top of a popular website search result at google. The scamsite looks excactly like the original website but has a different URI in the browser bar, therefore it is vital to double-check the website path in the browser when you are using google to find popular websites. The scam works in such a way that when you enter you credentials into the scam site the scammers will use it to get access to your account on the real website and they will get total control of your valuable on that particular site.

4. Stranger contact you on social media

   It is very common that scammer will contact theyr victims through social media. Those contacts are almost always done through fake accounts, that can sometimes be recognized, by for example examining who are theyr friends, who is liking theyr pictures. A common theme is for scammers to only use pictures with a person wearing glasses to prevent any face recognition. Here the image search in google can come in handy to determine if the profile is in fact fake or not.

5. "Send us X, and we send you Y back."

   It is common for scam sites to ask theyr victims to send them money or cryptocurrencies with the promise that they will multiply it and send it back. Here they scammer will often use complex tech-jargon to convince the victim. When the individual than tries to withdraw his "profit" than it becomes impossible, or he is asked to deposit even higher amounts to pay for the withdrawal.

Have you been scammed?

If you have been scammed on the internet in a case linked to cryptocurrencies, than we would really like to hear about it in our email info@ismynt.is. We will help you register the scamsite and addresses linked to the scam on databases that will help others avoid them. We also strongly recommend that you file a case with the local police.

ScamSearch

In cooperation with ScamAdviser.com we at ismynt have setup a search engine for fraudulent websites. By typing the domain name of the website you can get a score about the reputation and integrity of said website, so that you can make an informed decision about whether you should trust them.