At Coinmetro, we are pursuing an ongoing, open dialogue with our community, trying to understand how we can better ourselves and offer you a meaningful and safe financial experience. However, the crypto landscape is no stranger to scams and frauds. This article will cover a recent scamming campaign, a brief review of some common fraudulent techniques and also several good practices that should help keep your account safe.

A common malicious practice is the “fake investor scam”. And actually, there is such a scamming campaign taking place right now of which we want to make you aware.

This technique incorporates a fake investing blog highly praising all the scam investment companies that have been active recently: Toward Source, Definite Area, Impressive Area, Bitelit Group – keep these bad actors’ names in mind! These are all fake companies that have specialized in fraud. The name of the site involved with this operation is https://www.secretsofsuccessfultradersreview.org/.

How does this ill-intended operation take place? We have been made aware it is mostly targeting German-speaking people, asking them to create a Coinmetro account (or for other exchanges as well). Basically, the bad actors pose as investment consultants or fund managers for the above-mentioned fake companies, promising to take care of their accounts and significantly grow their investments. When people make the mistake to trust them and hand over their account details, the offenders clean out all the funds into other crypto wallets.

Unfortunately, some of our own users have fallen victims to these frauds so we want to take extra measures to make everybody aware and keep you safe. Read on to learn more.

For years, we have been involved in an ongoing effort to educate and keep our people safe. In this BLOG from 2019 you can find out about some common scams in the crypto space. We will reiterate some of those just to point out the various fraud techniques:

• Scam ICOs – These days, anyone can launch an ICO and establish a fake legal person to collect funds from investors. Before FOMO gets a hold of you, take your time to check out the whitepaper and the technology, the team behind the project, and also – what are the press and community saying about them.
• Fraudulent Crypto Exchanges – Scam crypto exchanges can appear out of the blue and start heavy marketing. Promising unreal bonuses on the first deposit or other perks, they will lure users into signing up for an account and depositing money that they lose forever. Never sign up with an anonymous crypto exchange you have heard nothing about. Only open an account with a trusted, reputable exchange like Coinmetro, which has years of experience and a transparent community behind it.
• Phishing Scams – This kind of fraud has been around for a while, but surprisingly, it still victimizes people. Scammers send emails with malicious links to fake websites or gather personal details like key information contained within a crypto wallet. Remember – if you smell something fishy, it’s always better to delete the email completely and not click any suspicious links.

We want to clearly point out several things that are aimed to keep you safe:

• Coinmetro has NO affiliation with the above-mentioned malicious entities.
• We will NEVER ask you for your account credentials – so don’t give out your info to anybody!
• Scammers and frauds are encountered with all crypto exchanges (and beyond).
• We are continuously monitoring and leveraging the best technology and partners to keep our environment safe and secure. However, we are not responsible for people giving out their credentials to scammers.
• It is your responsibility to not fall victim to these harmful strategies and protect your account.

Year after year, millions of people fall victim to scams and frauds. It goes well beyond the crypto environment. For instance, for most major technology companies, there are several scam campaigns impersonating them. Keep in mind that it is your responsibility to keep your account safe and not fall victim to these evil practices. Make sure you are vigilant and study every offer and interaction with consideration. Watch out for “investors”, “fund managers” or other crypto-gurus that approach you out of the blue with a “business proposal”. No matter what, do not give out your personal information and credentials. Shy away from unreal promises and rewards and generally speaking, from others urging you to do things as soon as possible – this is always a suspicious sign. Read more about scams and how to stay safe in this blog: Crypto Scams – How to Avoid Them.

As always – our door is always open and our 24/7 helpline is there whenever you need assistance. To learn more and find out what others are thinking, join the debate on the ever-growing Coinmetro community on Discord and Telegram! To begin your crypto journey with one of the most transparent exchanges out there, sign up to our platform in just a few steps.