Cryptocurrency exchange or scam site?
The cryptocurrency boom has attracted the attention not only of financiers and economists, traders and investors, but also fraudsters. And the fact that cryptocurrencies can exist exclusively in electronic form has greatly expanded the number of schemes - because now attackers don't even need to leave home to steal your money.
A competent and cautious trader does not use "spontaneous" cryptocurrency exchanges and some illegal trading platforms for a long time. There are many cryptocurrency exchanges at his service - from top to obscure ones. But herein lies the danger - if you register on the website of a top cryptocurrency exchange, you can lose your money.
Let's take a look at why this might happen.
Bittrex and Binance are the most dangerous exchanges
According to the observations of the cryptocurrency community, for every real working cryptocurrency project in the network there are 2-3 fraudulent projects. Quite large cryptocurrency exchanges look especially attractive to attackers. It is logical. They are very well-publicized, which automatically removes the issue of attracting gullible customers for attackers who fake a website.
In this case, as practice shows, not only novices, but also experienced traders and investors can fall into the trap of a fake website of a cryptocurrency exchange. A beginner falls into the trap through ignorance, while a professional due to loss of attention and vigilance.
It is enough to enter your data at the fake website of the cryptocurrency exchange at least once, and the fraudsters will be able to dispose of your funds.
According to unofficial information, hackers most often spoof websites of cryptocurrency exchanges Bittrex и Binance. We will introduce you to some of the signs that instead of a cryptocurrency exchange you have been "visited" by scammers.
Availability of a secure connection
The website of any cryptocurrency exchange performs data encryption. Naturally, fake sites do not do this, so to the left of the browser address bar on such sites will There is no secure connection icon (green lock or "protected" sign).
For an example, let's take a look at two websites of the cryptocurrency exchanger CoinsMarkets.
This screenshot was taken at the fake website of the cryptocurrency exchange service CoinsMarkets.
And this screenshot is already from the real CoinsMarkets site. As you can see for yourself, there are almost no differences, except for the green lock indicating a secure connection, on the real site.
It is the responsibility of all Internet sites that store users' personal data to encrypt it. For this purpose, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption is used, which guarantees a secure connection between the user's browser and the server. Such sites receive a special certificate, and the letter "s" is added to its http url address. That is, the addresses of real cryptocurrency exchanges will begin not with the letters http, but with https.
If you do not see a secure connection icon on the exchanger's site and its address starts with http - most likely, the attackers are already rubbing their hands in anticipation of receiving your money.
Fraudulent email addresses
However, don't assume that having an encrypted connection on a site immediately puts it in the category of secure. Fraudsters may very well go to the trouble of obtaining a certificate for a fake site. It's easier than you think - a similar url address and the lax attentiveness of a representative from an organization that issues such certificates is enough.
Yes, you got it exactly right - the human factor is to blame. The applications for the certificate are reviewed by people. Often, the differences in the original and fake url addresses are so insignificant that you can't even tell at first what the catch is.
You don't believe it? Absolutely not. Even knowing that the site is fake, you're unlikely to immediately see where the fake is hiding. We offer our readers Fortrader magazine make sure of that.
As you can see, scammers place extra icons - dots, commas, etc. - under the letters in the url address. This method is much more effective than substituting similarly spelled letters - for example, 1 instead of I.
The method is really effective. Try to determine for yourself what is wrong in the spelling of the address on the fake website of the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex.
Another option fraud on cryptocurrency exchanges
The secure connection icon is in place. However, on the fake site, you may see a faint comma under the letter "r". If you don't know about it, you might not notice it. Especially on a glaring, dusty, or dirty monitor.
How do I protect myself?
We already mentioned that scammers take advantage of the popularity of cryptocurrency sites for their dark purposes. However, they still have to spend a lot of money to promote fake sites. Fortunately, the Internet sphere allows to advertise the site in all possible ways: mailing lists, posts on forums, browser advertising, etc. In this case, underline characters, which distinguish fake url from original ones, are hidden by underlining.
So never follow links without checking them first. Copy the link into notepad or some text editor and check to see if the url address has any wildcards. Once you are sure that the site is original, add it to your bookmarks so you don't have to look for it again.
Be very careful on those sites where you have to enter your personal information. If you don't take care of your security yourself, no one will do it for you.