Jul 6, 2018
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Scams and security have always been the two biggest fears of investors. With the introduction of cryptocurrencies these fears have only multiplied.
The lack of information on a global scale and the relatively new concept of blockchain technology, make cryptocurrencies an ideal working ground for many scam artists. Perhaps the most widely known scam in cryptocurrency history, was Bitconnect.
This week saw an interesting development when Youtube was added as a defendant in the class action lawsuit against Bitconnect.
Originally the lawsuit was filed on the 24th of January by six people represented by the Silver Miller law firm. The stated personal losses were claimed to be just over $750 000. There were numerous Bitconnect videos, gaining a colossal amount of views on Youtube.
That would mean that numerous amount of people, including minors, were exposed to many videos which promoted an illegal investment. Youtube failed to act and demonetize the said videos and this in turn led to the lawsuit.
It’s probably impossible to calculate how much videos there actually were or what’s the total amount of viewing hours these videos collected. Regardless of which platform is used to promote illegal investing content there need to be clear rules on the subject.
Criminal organizations have always been incredibly adaptable and it should come as no surprise to anyone that new technology is easily exploitable in regards to illegal activity.
That being said, recently a joint force was established to combat modern international financial crime.
Scams can spread like wildfire through social media
The ever growing use of social media will be a two-edged sword. On one hand it can quickly be used to detect scams and other illegal activities, which users will share between them and the scam will quickly be exposed.
On the other hand, a scam which is well designed can attract a huge amount of people and in turn that will result in more victims. The best defense a person can have is information.
Luckily we live in the age of information and with a bit of research, we can be informed on almost every matter that interests us.
Greed also plays out a big role in scams like Bitconnect because people are always charmed by the idea of easy money falling out of the sky. Well, unless you are the owner of a central bank, you can’t get rich by printing money out of thin air.
Getting informed and communicating with other people who want to invest in the same project, can always help in the long run.
You can also check out:
- Twitter Scambots. A Growing Thread to the Cryptocommunity and Social Media
- The Trump Administration’s stance on Crypto
- Leading and Innovating by Example
- Coinmine One: Mining Becoming a Part of Everyday Life - Dec 27, 2019
- Blockchain Games: Huge Potential for Drastic Changes - Dec 23, 2019
- Lition: One Very Small Project Shows Big Opportunity - Dec 20, 2019
- Talent Growth System by Coinbase is Already Practiced by Global Giants - Dec 19, 2019
- Double-Spending: Potential Risks and Integrated Solutions - Dec 18, 2019
