Trading in cryptocurrencies is highly risky and they are extremely volatile. Since cryptos have no regulatory backup, there are chances that they are also highly vulnerable to fraud and scams. A new debate has erupted after DOGE co-founder Billy Marcus claimed that 95% of cryptocurrency projects are scams. It also caught the attention of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who loves Dogecoin and has been vocal about it. There are some popular frauds that have been used as a medium to launder crypto investors.
Via his Twitter account, Dogecoin (DOGE) co-founder Billy Marcus said, “The reason people think crypto 95% are scams and garbage and most crypto people are assholes because crypto is 95% scams and garbage and most crypto people are assholes.”
He said, “Let’s change that. It starts with you — who you support, and how you behave.”
To which Musk replied with a laughing emoji. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has shown his resemblance to Dogecoin since early 2021. Musk has been occasionally responding to Marcus’ tweets.
Earlier on May 13, Marcus tweeted, “The reason I love Dogecoin is because it knows it’s stupid.” To which Musk replied saying, ‘It has potential as a currency.
Created by Billy Marcus of Portland, Oregon, and Jackson Palmer of Sydney, Australia, Dogecoin (DOGE) is based on a popular internet meme ‘Doge’, and also features a Shiba Inu on its logo. It is an open source digital currency. Since it contains the Doge meme, Dogecoin’s founders believe that the coin is a fun, light-hearted cryptocurrency and has the potential to attract beyond bitcoin’s original audience.
Unlike Bitcoin, Dogecoin has a block time of 1 minute and its total supply is uncapped. This means that there is no limit to the number of mined Doge. An investor can mine Doge either personally or by joining a mining pool. The mining limit of bitcoin is 21 million.
Doge is currently trading at $0.0874, up over 1.33%, according to real-time performance data from Coinbase. Its trading volume has increased by more than 12% to $394.6 million in the last 24 hours. So far, its market cap is $11.6 billion.
However, Doge has also faced heat after the crypto crash from earlier this month. In one month, Doge is down by more than 35%. However, in one year, the decline is around 72%.
In its second edition of the semi-annual transparency report for 2021-2022, WazirX revealed that 95% of scams in cryptocurrencies originate from outside the on-chain crypto ecosystem.
WazirX in its report highlights four types of popular frauds in cryptocurrencies.
1. Impersonation scams: With the rise in social media, fraudsters are successfully taking advantage of their reach to connect with VDA users. This is done by assuming the identity of a well-known and trusted person in the VDA industry. As a result, the victim is tempted to transfer the demanded amount to the fraudster’s account.
2. Social Engineering Scams: There has been a significant increase in LEA requests related to social engineering scams. Social engineering attacks are usually carried out via email, phone calls, and even text messages. Under various pretexts ranging from credit card expiration to bank account verification, scammers flag a sense of urgency and fear with the aim of prompting victims to take action without careful evaluation.
3. Identity Theft: With the changing nature and technological advancements in business and trade, the personal identity of users becomes extremely important in delivering services. In the case of ID theft, a scammer falsely obtains and uses another person’s personal data with the intention of fraud or deception, usually for pecuniary gain.