The safety and security of our users' information, accounts and funds have always been a top priority. We have consistently emphasized educating our users and sharing information as we become aware of new scams.
Scammers are constantly coming up with new tricks, and lately, they have been extremely active and, over the pandemic, developed new and creative ways to take advantage of people when they have their guard down. We have seen several online scams actively targeting people online to deceive them out of their crypto.
Fraudsters do not discriminate, targeting the most vulnerable but also going after those that may think they are well-equipped to protect themselves.
Below is a list of common scams to watch out for and ways to protect yourself:
Scam Trick #1 Fake Job offer:
The scammer masquerades as an employer offering a job, posting new employment opportunities on websites that we all use and trust. Once you go through the process of getting a job and a job offer is received, they tell the applicant to open a crypto account, get verified and share their login credentials as part of some ‘employee onboarding’. They then proceed to either get the victim to fund their account or fund the account with the stolen funds, which they quickly withdraw from the user’s newly set up account. The individual that opened an account may lose money or may find themselves in the midst of moving illicit proceeds.
Scam Trick #2 Fake ‘Billing Department’ email:
Relying on assistance of a crypto broker, advisor or an account manager and sending crypto assets to external addresses that are controlled by companies outside of your jurisdiction may lead to loss and theft of funds. Such individuals and companies are waiting to take advantage of those that put trust in their hands and allow them to trade on their behalf. We have identified that a number of such companies have been distributing fake emails claiming to be coming from the NDAX billing department. It says that a free crypto was received but that the amount is blocked pending some compliance check and asks for 20% of the amount to a wallet address that they control. They call it a compliance wallet. If crypto is sent to that scam wallet, the transaction will be final and non reversible. Please note that it is not a legal requirement and always leads to the loss of crypto assets. We strongly encourage everyone not to send any crypto assets for tax payments, encryption of crypto funds to your name, declaration, withdrawal fees or any other fees, as they are not legal requirements. If such a letter or invoice is received, please notify our compliance department immediately.
Scam Trick #3 Fake NDAX Google Ads:
Scammers target Google searches and direct those searching for the site to a Fake NDAX login page. They recreate only the log in page that looks similar to the legitimate log in page. If existing NDAX users login using that fake site, the scammer may get hold of their login credentials
To protect:
- Make sure to only visit NDAX official domain - ndax.io
- Never share your login information with anyone
- Ensure that your two-factor authenticator is always active on your account
- Keep your login credential and other personal information safely stored and well protected
Scam Trick #4 Investment advisors / brokers:
Professional looking websites try to act as investment advisors, crypto brokers or account managers promising lofty returns. Once you fall for it, they ask you to install screen sharing software on your computer (most commonly used AnyDesk, Team Viewer and Zoom), they get you to sign up for a platform like NDAX, get verified, deposit funds from your bank account, buy cryptocurrencies and transfer that crypto to an external wallet they control. The promised returns are so high, that a victim agrees to send the crypto without realizing it is probably never coming back.
To protect yourself follow these simple tips:
- Never allow anyone to remotely connect to your devices
- Do not send crypto assets to the addresses that you do not control
- If the returns seem to be to height to be true, most likely they are
- Stay away from anyone that creates a sense of urgency not allowing for any time to evaluate the proposal
- Constantly pushing to invest more and more, outside of the comfort zone
- Do not invest borrowed funds, as it will lead to additional risk
- Don't invest more than you can afford losing
Scam Trick #5 Romance and other Social Media Based Scams
Someone may reach out through email, text or a social media channel asking to connect. The first introduction may start with a fake social media profile or dating site. Once you enter into a virtual relationship, they find a number of shared interests and start with building and establishing trust and once that is done they share their success story in crypto asset trading or mining and offer to share their knowledge with you. Since they have done so well and you now fully trust them, since you know their cat's name and their favorite food, you start following them blindly and that allows online fraudsters that are hiding behind a fake profile to take advantage and abuse the trust and relationship that was established.
To protect yourself follow these simple tips:
- Do not send money or crypto assets if requested
- Do not agree to receive funds on their behalf from the source that you do not know
- Share the involvement of an outsider with your friends and family and pay close attention to their opinion
Here are some basic hygiene tips to reduce the risk of falling for a crypto scam
- Keep a strong password that you don’t use for anything else
- Enable 2-factor authentication
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Engage with the trading platform directly. There are no middlemen, brokers or investment advisors.
- Never install a screen sharing software on the advice of a third party
- Don’t fall for phishing emails. If it looks off in any way, be skeptical of it. Emails that ask for your password, money or other personal information are red flags. Look for misspelled words, branding that looks inauthentic -- like logos being off-color -- or other clumsy mistakes. Hover your mouse over a link to see if it is sending you somewhere other than your intended destination; somewhere that looks phishy.
- If you are encouraged not to disclose engagement of a broker, advisor or a new friend that you just met online with your friends and family or not to disclose such engagement to NDAX- it is a red flag
We have heard all this information over and over again from all of our service providers, on the news and in our close circle and we constantly think that it will not happen to me. It is important to mention that it can happen to anyone and it is very important to keep your guard up and ensure you never share information with anyone and stay alert and vigilant at all times.
Stay safe and keep your hard earned money out of the fraudsters pockets.