There’s a common attitude that if people fall victim to a scam, they got what they deserved. A lot of scams prey on peoples’ greed and ignorance. But not everyone who gets scammed is a greedy idiot. On Yavin scam fighter shares some thoughts on why it’s important to protect people from cryptocurrency scams.
“Not every scam victim is greedy or stupid,” says On Yavin, CEO of Cointelligence. “Some of them are acting out of desperation, or they’re ignoring the warning signs because the person who introduced them to scam is someone they trust. We see this a lot in crypto scams that operate with a Ponzi scheme structure. Maybe you wouldn’t trust the person who created the scam, but when your best friend or your brother or your daughter comes to you with an amazing opportunity, you trust them.”
That’s right. Some scams prey on peoples’ trust, by recruiting their nearest and dearest to give them a sales pitch. On Yavin scam fighter warns that these scams are especially dangerous due to their ability to rope in entire families, squeezing them for every spare cent they can invest in the scheme.
And while it might seem that scammers would want to target the wealthy for a big score, many have realized that victims of limited means might be desperate for a chance to boost their retirement funds or leave a bigger inheritance for their families.
“The older population can be vulnerable to all sorts of scams, including crypto scams,” says On Yavin scam fighter. “They’re not as familiar with the technology or how to research it, so they’re more likely to believe impossible claims.”
Rather than shaming people for falling for a scam, we should instead all do our part to fight scams and educate those around us about how to spot Ponzi schemes and too-good-to-be-true investment opportunities. If we all watch out for each other, the scammers will have a harder time finding victims.