Greg's Corner

Victims burned twice in Bitcoin scam

By Greg Collier

Since it gained mainstream popularity, Bitcoin has had an air of fraud around it. While people have gotten wealthy through the mining, trading, and investing of Bitcoin, it’s also attracted a large number of scammers. While every Bitcoin transaction is recorded on a public ledger, it’s virtually impossible to reclaim if stolen. Also, due to the fact that Bitcoin is decentralized and has no governing authority, victims of Bitcoin scams have little to no recourse.

One of these scams is targeting users of Instagram and takes advantage of hacked accounts. Once an Instagram account is compromised, the scammers will use this account to message other users on the account’s friends list, telling them how they’ve made money through Bitcoin. One Instagram use from Omaha, Nebraska, was asked to invest $500 through Cash App to purchase Bitcoin. However, before she could get her Bitcoin, she was asked to record a testimonial saying how successful this Bitcoin scheme was. Not only did she lose the $500, but now a video of her touting the success of this Bitcoin scheme is being shared on social media.

Unless you have a complete understanding of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency and general, it’s advised to avoid any Bitcoin transactions. This includes friends on social media telling you how much money they made. If you receive a message like that, message your friend back through other means to ask them if they meant to send that message.

Also, please keep in mind that the majority of agencies and companies will never ask for payment for some kind of bill in Bitcoin. You should also be aware of services who claim to be able to get your stolen Bitcoin back for a fee. That is also a scam.

Lastly, as with any investment, never invest any money you can’t afford to lose.