Coinbase Leads 'Tech Against Scams' Campaign to Combat Crypto Fraud
Summary:
Coinbase, together with several crypto and tech firms, has launched an educational campaign called 'Tech Against Scams' to reduce prevalence of scams in the industry. This initiative aims to educate the public about different types of fraud and offers guidelines on how to avoid becoming victims. The group seeks to combat particularly 'pig butchering' scams where fraudsters build trust with their victims over time before stealing their money. These scams represent only a small portion of total crypto transactions, but resulted in an estimated $5.9 billion loss in 2022.
Coinbase, in collaboration with several influential crypto firms, tech giants, and advocacy groups including Kraken, Gemini, Ripple Labs, Meta, the Global Anti-Scam Organization (GASO), and Match, a dating app company, has launched a concerted effort to battle pervasive fraud cases in the field. This collective recently unveiled a campaign dubbed "Tech Against Scams", designed to educate consumers about prevalent fraudulent operations and provide guidelines on evading victimhood. In a press release, Coinbase highlighted "pig butchering" scams - a long-haul fraud tactic in which swindlers establish credibility with their targets over time before absconding with their funds - as a crucial problem to tackle. These fraudsters often lure victims via dating apps and leverage the guise of romantic relations to foster trust. Sometimes, they bait potential victims with deceitful promises and counterfeit business offers. According to Coinbase, such scams aren't exclusive to the crypto sphere or digital technology; they've been around even before these sectors emerged. The latest Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis disclosed that nearly $5.9 billion was usurped by crypto-related frauds in 2022, albeit such illicit dealings constituted just 0.34% of all global crypto transactions, as per Coinbase's statement. Recently, Reuters detailed the account of two individuals who were prosecuted by U.S. authorities on charges of running a crypto-centric pig butchering scheme. U.S. law enforcement arrested Yicheng Zhang and Daren Li in April for allegedly executing a fraud operation, which resulted in a loss of $73 million for their victims. Reportedly, the duo diverted the pilfered digital assets – generated through fabricated crypto-investment deals – via 74 shell corporations intended to conceal their deceitful activity. The stolen assets were eventually transferred to a bank account in the Bahamas through bank accounts linked to each phantom company. The two now face charges of money laundering and could be sentenced to a maximum 20-year imprisonment if found guilty.
Published At
5/22/2024 9:40:00 PM
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