The crypto exchanges form the ‘Tech Against Scams’ partnership to fight fraud
Led by Coinbase, major crypto organizations, advocacy groups, and tech companies have taken a stand against the scams that are prevalent throughout the industry.
Coinbase, along with Kraken, Gemini, Ripple Labs, Meta, the Global Anti-Scam Organization (GASO) and dating app company Match, recently announced the creation of a “Tech Against Scams” education and safety initiative.
Tech Against Scams aims to curb emerging scams in the industry by educating the public on various scams and outlining some best practices to avoid becoming a victim.
In the press release, Coinbase cited “pork butchering” scams as one of the specific plans the team has to combat.
Pork slaying is a long-standing fraud tactic in which fraudsters spend considerable time building trust with their victims and “fatting” them before stealing their hard-earned money.
Scammers often target victims on dating apps and use romance as a way to instill trust. In other cases, the scammers initially approach their victims with false promises and fraudulent business opportunities.
Coinbase emphasizes that these scams are not unique or inherent to the crypto industry or even digital technology, and have either been around for a long time.
The latest Crypto Crime Report from Chinalysis revealed that an estimated $5.9 billion was stolen from crypto-related fraud in 2022, although the total number of illegal transactions represented only 0.34% of all crypto transactions globally, according to Coinbase.
RELATED: US Authorities Seize $73 Million In Crypto Fraud, Two Arrests
Reuters recently reported that two individuals have been indicted by US prosecutors for allegedly running a crypto-focused pork scam.
Yicheng Zhang and Darren Li have been arrested by US authorities for allegedly running a scheme to extort $73 million from their victims.
The two are said to have used stolen digital assets to create crypto investment opportunities through 74 shell companies to cover up the scam.
Each shell company was linked to a bank account that eventually deposited the stolen funds into a bank account in the Bahamas.
Both suspects are now charged with money laundering and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
