Biggest Crypto Scams in 2021 and What to Expect in 2022

2021 was an excellent year for the cryptocurrency industry. Several assets experienced tremendous growth in the year, breaking their previous records multiple times in many cases. For instance, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, hit more than one all-time high in the year, with the most recent topping out at over $68,000 in November, according to CoinMarketCap data. In the same month, Ether also set a new record price at $4,891.

The rise in the price of Ether may directly link to an increase in the network’s adoption. Through decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the Ethereum network is experiencing more traffic than other decentralized smart contract platforms. However, network attractiveness to new projects and retail players is also pulling in scammers looking to exploit community members.

Popular Crypto Scams in 2021

Squid Game

One of the year’s most-streamed shows, Squid Game is a Netflix original exploring a journey to fortune embarked on by 456 players in a series of potentially deadly children’s games. However, the show’s surging popularity influenced scammers to create a Squid Game token (SQUID) allegedly issued with ties to the original filmmakers.

On October 20th, SQUID debuted as a play-to-earn token and sold out almost immediately, initially with an entry-amount of 456 in supposed reverence to the number of players on the show. The platform also allowed players to acquire tokens by playing six featured games. At one point, SQUID jumped to $2,861, and within five minutes, crashed to a jaw-dropping $0.0008.

Not long after, players found that they could no longer withdraw or trade their SQUID. The social media platforms that offered support also blocked comments. After that, the unknown creators seemingly cashed out the funds and absconded, a concept known in the crypto space as a ‘rug pull’.

Africrypt

SQUID wasn’t the only debacle in the crypto space, as there were many others, such as Africrypt – two brothers operating a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment firm in South Africa. Ameer and Raees Cajee floated the Africrypt platform and promised investors returns on their deposits.

However, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ameer Cajee told clients in April that the company suffered a hack and urged them not to involve the law. Ameer claimed reporting to authorities would grind the recovery process.

Clients dismissed the warning and involved lawyers and other authorities who found that the story didn’t hold following an investigation. In a response by Bloomberg, the involved law firm further revealed that employees could not access the platform’s back end seven days before the supposed breach.

Although lawyers have put the stolen funds figure at nearly $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin, Raees insists that the total funds missing sit at a maximum of $5 million. Regardless, both brothers are currently on the run.

SaveTheKids

The SaveTheKids token came to popularity through repeated and intensive efforts from social media influencers, including well-known Instagram and TikTok celebrities. In June, members of popular e-sports and entertainment firm FaZe Clan promoted SaveTheKids as a charity cryptocurrency to help raise funds for children’s charities.

However, shortly after the token launched, the initial backers, who happened to own a significant amount of tokens in their portfolio, sold off their holdings, causing the price to tank on secondary buyers.

In summary, SaveTheKids became worthless to all except those who could cash out early. Furthermore, people tied FaZe Clan member Kay to a string of cryptocurrencies that crashed in the same manner shortly after launching.

Identifying Crypto Scams in 2022

As more people enter the crypto sector, there are expectations for growth in both utility and volume. However, these same factors are also attractive to scammers, who will probably continue to find new ways to deceive people out of their hard-earned assets. To curb this potential fraud, SpyWolf is introducing several measures to help people identify and fight off cryptocurrency scams.

SpyWolf is a team of experts proficient in the cryptocurrency security space. The team performs audits for clients to help ensure that the industry is as safe as possible from scams like SQUID or SaveTheKids.

In addition, SpyWolf wants to ensure a safer crypto space in 2022, taking all the investigative work off the end user’s plate. The team provides several features for the crypto community, including its SpyWolf Network.

Launched in late 2021, the SpyWolf Network portal contains both free and exclusive content dedicated to identifying scams in the crypto space. The portal has a committed team of researchers who work full time to perform due diligence for clients and identify dubious projects. Currently, the portal groups projects into Trusted Tokens, Upcoming (and unverified) Tokens, Latest Scams, and Potential Scams.

The Trusted Tokens feature release dates and Trust Level badges are attached to each identified cryptocurrency. For the Latest or Potential Scams, the SpyWolf team also adds badges to let users know which project could be a Honeypot, Abandoned Project, Potential Rugpull, Honeypot Risk, and so on.

In addition to the team’s expertise, SpyWolf also relies on community information to find information on potential scams, using open-source measures to offer maximum security opportunities.

Users on the SpyWolf platform can expect to easily partake in crypto’s several attractive offerings with a highly reduced risk of falling victim to any potential scams. Users can aid in audits, view free information on the portal, or purchase $SPY tokens for exclusive details.

Source: https://coinquora.com/biggest-crypto-scams-in-2021-and-what-to-expect-in-2022/