8,000 Bitcoins Scammed in OTC Trading: The Scam Routine Revealed

" This is the best and the worst of the cryptocurrency world." Digital currency has been around for 10 years, and during this period, countless investors have gained wealth. At the same time, due to the lack of formal supervision, various frauds have occurred frequently. In the past two days, an explosive fraud has spread rapidly in the cryptocurrency world, involving 8,000 bitcoins and hundreds of millions of dollars! Such a large amount of bitcoin fraud is the first in the industry, so it has attracted the attention of many investors.

Even the old leeks who are blinded by profit cannot escape being deceived

First, let me briefly summarize this OTC Bitcoin fraud incident:

Cause: On the evening of April 14, the founder of a well-known wallet posted a message on WeChat Moments saying: "7,000 BTC". People who saw it were confused. Until the wife of a well-known over-the-counter exchange owner commented in the comment section: "It seems that everyone is well-informed." Everyone began to feel that this matter was unusual.

What happened: On April 15, Zhao Dong, the founder of DGroup, said in his WeChat Moments: "It is said that many people doing OTC in the cryptocurrency circle have been scammed...8000 BTC", and attached a picture introducing the Ponzi scheme and its founder Charles Ponzi. Later, a veteran OTC trader named "Mrs. Hai" also posted information about the OTC scam.

At this point, an OTC fraud in the name of trading and lending gradually surfaced. It is understood that there are two fraud suspects in this incident, who used "personal reputation" and "trust of acquaintances" as endorsements, and adopted the method of buying and selling futures and lending coins at high interest to attract a large amount of funds in the cryptocurrency circle. In the end, the money of new investors could not pay the interest and short-term returns of old investors, leading to a collapse. This Ponzi scheme in the cryptocurrency circle involved more than 100 traders and miners, basically old leeks who have been in the cryptocurrency circle for many years, with a cumulative amount of 8,000 bitcoins.

This scam was obviously designed for those who do over-the-counter transactions, but unfortunately all of them fell for it. According to people familiar with the matter, the victims and the suspects were familiar with each other, and two victims lent 400 bitcoins to the suspects. If they were strangers, they would definitely not lend out such a large number of coins.

As Zhao Dong commented: "A bunch of people who do OTC every day, don't they have an idea of ​​the profit margin? You can't make that much money yourself, so why do you believe that others have huge profits? In the end, you can't get your coins back."

Over-the-counter transactions are full of scammers

In fact, there are many scams in the unregulated cryptocurrency world: various fee-charging groups, fake white papers, air coins, fake proxy investments, blockchain pyramid schemes, fake media, fake endorsements, fake wallets, unlimited issuance...

The above-mentioned 8,000 bitcoins were defrauded in over-the-counter transactions. Since current policies prohibit exchanges from directly using legal tender for on-site transactions, some platforms specializing in over-the-counter transactions have emerged. At the same time, exchanges also set up legal tender OTC trading areas, where users can complete the exchange of legal tender and digital currency through over-the-counter transactions. The victims of this incident are active in major over-the-counter trading groups and OTC transactions of various exchanges every day, and mainly make a living by earning the difference. It may be just a matter of a thought, and they are tempted by the interests of criminals, resulting in irreparable losses.

Users + trading platforms double prevention to avoid risks

As an ordinary investor, in addition to choosing a reliable exchange, you must also be highly vigilant against various scams. Never trust anyone (including so-called "celebrities"), never transfer money to others easily, and never disclose any security information such as account numbers and passwords to others easily.

In 58COIN's fiat currency OTC transactions, both buyers and sellers must pass identity authentication, which enhances the security of transactions; point-to-point transactions are implemented, and there are no middlemen to make a profit from the price difference, which simplifies the transaction process; since its launch, it has insisted on 0 handling fees and 0 advertising fees, which reduces the transaction costs of users; the platform has full risk control and 24-hour dedicated service, which improves the efficiency of problem solving. Its customer service director Sara reminded: "When trading OTC, you must be particularly vigilant against false payment routines. It is recommended that users pay attention to the order status in a timely manner after publishing their needs, and try to trade with common merchants and advanced certified merchants. If you encounter suspicious situations, you must keep relevant records and feedback to customer service in a timely manner." In short, in one sentence: make sure you have received the money before releasing the currency !

Of course, in addition to the users' own precautions, the platform must also keep a good risk control checkpoint. In order to maximize the security of user assets, 58COIN has spent a lot of effort to strengthen the platform's risk control system; on the other hand, it has also conducted rigorous self-examination and self-correction on possible problems and processes. In addition, users are reminded to protect their privacy information, especially accounts, private keys and other parts involving financial security.