ndax logo
Loading...
dots

Warning! Rise in Scams involving Cryptocurrencies.

Aug 13, 2020
undefined
byNDAX Labs

Warning! Rise in Scams involving Cryptocurrencies.


The global pandemic has brought major changes to our society affecting our personal and business lives. This year, many people have lost their jobs, traditional financial markets have gone through a rollercoaster of uncertainties, and there has been a rapid increase in scams and fraud. It seems like everyone you know is getting phone calls from scammers pretending to be the CRA, fraudulent job offers are on the rise and online investments with significant guarantees on your investments are flooding the internet. These scams do not shy away from the cryptocurrency industry. In order to help you avoid becoming a victim of fraud, Our Compliance Officer, Julia Baranovskaya has the following recommendations for you:

Find out exactly who you are dealing with

Check to see if the business that you are in contact with exists. Depending on what industry the business is in, check their registration, their website, conduct an online search, and look for online reviews from other people.

Do not provide personal information

If you have not initiated contact with a business but got contacted by someone that is asking you to provide them with your personal information, DO NOT give out any personal information, such as your name, your Social Insurance Number(SIN), date of birth, address, credit card or banking information or your government-issued picture ID. If you have been contacted by someone claiming to be from your bank or governmental agency, hang up and call the number on the back of your bank card or phone number for the agency that called you.

Do not grant remote access

Do not allow anyone to access your computer remotely unless you are receiving support from a trusted source. Hackers will find ways to access your computer remotely and retrieve your personal information and your online passwords that are saved on your computer. If such information is obtained, it can be used against you in many ways, such as opening online accounts under your name.

Reject sales pressure

Do not be afraid to say “NO” and do not buy into “call for action” or an urgent request that is time sensitive. Offers like “one time only” and “today’s special” are an attempt to pressure you to make “on-the-spot” decisions that will not allow you to do your own research and make an informed decision.

Say no to upfront fees

Be wary of any types of upfront fees, especially if they are part of an online job offer that is requesting that you pay an upfront fee so they can verify your cryptocurrency address for future payment. Or when you get that phone call with someone on the other end informing you that you won a trip to a sunny destination and you have to pay an upfront fee to reserve your spot. It sounds very cliché, but if it sounds too good to be true, most probably it is.

Ask for more time  

Got an offer that is very hard to say “no” to, but there is no time to decide, as it is about to expire?! Ask for an extension of the offer and request that they send you the information in writing. Still not sure if this is the right choice and if the offer is right for you, get an extra opinion or call other service providers in the same line of business to better evaluate the offer and understand its true value.

Use stronger passwords

We always suggest using a strong and complicated password and not to write it down, on all the online platforms that we use and they all recommend using a “unique” password. It’s hard to come up with a new password every time and it’s even harder to remember them all.  To resolve this issue you can use an online password manager app which will help you generate a unique password and will keep the record of it for you, so all that you need is to remember one password for your password manager.

Do not share your ID  

Do not share an image of your government-issued picture ID. Do not post pictures of it online. Do not share your personal, biographical, or identification information on social media. It is surprising to see that people will sometimes post pictures of their ID on social media – it is inviting all kinds of trouble.

Watch for unordinary behavior  

Watch for anything suspicious or “out of the norm” from your service provider. Your bank or your phone service provider will never send you a phone text asking you to click on the link to accept a deposit for some unknown refund that they owe you. They will just process it and notify you later.

Just hang up

If the caller on the other side is too pushy and is not allowing you to think about the offer, just hang up.

Avoid suspicious emails

If you get an email from an unknown sender with links, offers, and other information that looks very tempting, do not click on the links – you don’t know who sent it to you and it may be a trap. Do not click on the links or pop up windows, it may be a virus that can infect all the information on your computer and compromise your security.

         


             

These are common-sense precautions that can make it significantly harder for scammers to compromise you and your information, but what do you do if you have already been the victim of a possible scam?

If you have been a victim of fraud and you think that your personal information has been fraudulently used or your bank or other online accounts have accessed by an unauthorized person:

1. Call your bank or your credit card provider and inform them that your account may have been accessed by an unauthorized user and ask the bank or credit provider to send you new cards.

2. Reset all your online passwords, such as all your online accounts, your email, and your computer.

3. Contact your local law enforcement agency.

4. File a report with Canadian Anti-Fraud center and follow the instructions on the page for what to do it you’re a victim.

A surprising number of people do not want to talk about scams they have fallen victim to. People are embarrassed and surprisingly often do not want to pursue it — even if they lost money. Remember, bad actors exist in every industry and crypto scammers are just relying on the mystique of blockchain technology, which not everyone can fully understand. There is no need to be embarrassed – if you have been tricked by someone who does this for a living. Notify low enforcement agencies and your service provider and share your experiences so others can learn.


Warning! Rise in Scams involving Cryptocurrencies.

What you need to know before transferring funds to your account on NDAX.IO

1. NDAX has no affiliation or association with any other companies.

2. NDAX is a Canadian based company and has no operations outside of Canada.

3. NDAX employees do not provide any investment advice and NDAX does not employ investment advisors or brokers.

4. NDAX employees will never contact you for the purpose of providing investment advice and will never promise or guarantee a return on your investments.

5. NDAX employees will never ask you to remotely connect to your computer or download any software that will allow us to access any of your devices.

Please note: All Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible. NDAX will not be able to reverse a submitted withdrawal transaction. Please ensure that you know exactly where the funds are going.

If you believe you have been a victim of scam or fraud, please visit Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for additional information and notify [email protected]