Experts predict a twofold increase in cryptocurrency fraud

Kaspersky Lab believes that in 2021, the damage from crimes with digital money mayreach $ 4.5 billion

The volume of cryptocurrency fraud in the currentyear will double and reach $ 4.5 billion, according to Kaspersky Lab. Cybersecurity experts explained this by the rise in the value of digital assets, Izvestia writes. In February, the price of bitcoin reached $ 58 thousand for the first time. On the morning of March 1, the digital asset is trading at $ 45.8 thousand.

According to experts, the number of attacks may decrease byin the event of a drop in cryptocurrency quotes. Alexander Gostev, chief technology expert at Kaspersky Lab, said that last year the number of fraudulent schemes related to the field of decentralized finance - DeFi - increased. According to Gostev, such dynamics will continue in 2021.

One of the main ways to steal funds isthe closure of crypto exchanges under the guise of technical problems or hacker attacks. In 2020, the number of such cases increased to 75, which is one and a half times more than a year earlier. Another method of stealing digital money is a criminal obtaining a user's personal data using fake mobile applications or websites that imitate the operation of real cryptocurrency exchanges or crypto wallets.

Gostev added that among the popular waysdeception - scammers send letters about the initial placement of coins (ICO) or indicate this information in social networks from a fake account of famous personalities. For credibility, such messages may include links to actual pending statements or great deals.

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