Cryptocurrencies are without doubts exciting, they provide an adrenaline rush to the investors and traders and it appears to be the perfect way to amass a fortune. However, not everything in this space is green and you need to be careful while building portfolios. The Two Billion Dollar Crypto scam is an incident that involves the Turkish exchange Thodax and it serves as a warning for all the people in the retail side of the markets.
Getting started with the world of blockchain is an interesting venture for many people. After all, who would not love an opportunity that allows an individual to make money and have a kick to it. While choosing a broker or an exchange to execute and act upon your ideas, one needs to be very careful or else things will go sideways within a fraction of a second.
Unfortunately, this space by far is vastly unregulated and that type of situation exposes people to a large degree of risk. To know the way Thodax exchange lost their credibility and the allegations against the founder, continue reading this in-depth report. Also, in the end we will share with you some of the methods you can use to get your money back from this exchange in case you are one of the victims.
What is the Two Billion Dollar Crypto Scam?
Two Billion Dollar Crypto Scam is the name given to the incident wherein the Founder of Thodax, a Turkish crypto exchange allegedly tried to run away with $2 billion dollars of investor’s money. According to the data on many news outlets, the founder is still missing and the Turkish authorities have issued an International warrant seeking for Faruk Fatih Ozar’s arrest.
Even the regulators are shaken by this incident and as always at the end of the day, people that lost big money are the retail traders that believed in this platform. The founder is believed to be somewhere in Albania, but the information on his whereabouts are pure speculation and there is no further evidence to prove anything.
On the other end, the investors are not able to log in to their accounts and over 30,000 accounts on this exchange are under heavy scrutiny to figure out the activities carried out by insiders. Thodax exchange has denied the allegations made against them and said that the founder left the country to seal a deal with a foreign entity. According to numerous sources, this exchange has roughly 390,000 active users and around 30,000 people have been inflicted by the scandal.
People that have lost money in this event are innocent citizens who just wanted a way to hedge their finances against the rising hyperinflation that is booming in their region. After going through the available data about their activities and the kind of promotions they conducted, the exit scam theory appears to be the perfect fit and unless there is any kind of hard core evidence suggesting otherwise, people should not be convinced by any other theories.
To increase their user base rapidly and grow their revenue, this platform was offering free Dogecoins. According to the exchange, they have distributed around 4 million coins, but many users have not received anything till date. All in all, the blunder it is in showcases the need for regulation and there could not have been a better example than this event.
Regulatory warnings about Two Billion Dollar Crypto Scam
From day one, regulators have experienced a hard time with cryptocurrencies. Decentralisation enables the scammers and crooks to move money without creating much footprint. Nowadays, tumblers are the ultimate thing that is making the job of cybercriminals easier. Thank God, not all the scammers are skilled and in most cases, the people that commit crimes especially in the financial sector are easier to trace.
However, in order to track them, they have to move currency or attempt to make a withdrawal. In the past year, many organisations have created new forensic tools using which they can track the movement of popular coins and authorities just have to leverage them to trace out the culprits. The Two Billion Dollar Crypto scam certainly got the attention of the Turkish citizens and the government has already banned the crypto payment mechanisms in many ways.
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Even in the western world, crypto scams are increasing and millions of dollars are lost almost on a daily basis. Before you invest in any new platform, always check with your local regulators and if you are located in the UK, then do not forget to run a search on the FCA website. Remember, precaution is always better than cure and doing research about the platform you want to invest in or with is extremely important.
How to detect Exit Scams in the Future?
In simple words, Exit scams are nothing more than slight variation of pump and dump schemes. In the traditional stock markets carrying out this kind of operation was possible, but difficulty was more. As anyone can create their own cryptocurrency, in this space this type of scams are becoming common and only the innocent investors are losing money.
Exit scams occur when insiders hold on to a lot of tokens and are looking for a favorable or worthwhile price to dump their holdings. They might leverage social media platforms to create a buzz, but once the retail side buys in and triggers the snowball effect, it is almost game over. Note that they won’t sell in the beginning, but when they do press the final trigger, the price will top out for sure and many investors will get stuck.
Usually cryptos that are exit scams are illiquid and in the end, apart from the management side, no one will make money by trading or investing in it. If you spot any new ICO that is exploding in value without any rational reasoning behind them, then stay away from it. After all, the value of a coin is subjective, but the markets will always come back to equilibrium once the initial phase of euphoria is over.
Common Scams in this Space
Ponzi Schemes
Any platform that promises guaranteed return or big gains in an unbelievable short period of time falls in this category. The worst thing about this kind of scam is that they do pay few people in the beginning and it instills trust among the participants. However, all the MLM schemes will always crumble and in the end it operates like a time bomb.
Making money without doing anything is practically everyone’s dream, but if anyone claims to give you the exact way to achieve it, then it is time to run away from them. Ponzi schemes do not only inflict financial damages, but it also affects your mental health and people that have lost thousands of dollars will exactly know how the betrayal of trust feels like? So, refrain yourself from jumping on to new ventures and with firms that have little to no reputation.
Giveaway Scams
Giveaway scams are popular and the scammers that orchestrate it usually do it through Youtube and Twitter. The crooks basically hack famous celebrities and personalities profiles and make ridiculous claims and offers. Anyone that accepts their offer and sends money to them will lose it for sure. Sometimes, those breeds of criminals will also spread malware and it will compromise your personal computer and they will get access to all of your confidential information that might be stored in the device you are using.
The Internet is full of survey sites and big brands do carry out several promotions around the year, but they will never engage in any activities that might damage their reputation and they all will never ask for money. Keep an eye on the small print and if anything does not match with the narratives they are peddling, then do not entertain their offers for obvious reasons.
Phishing Scams
Phishing is also a threat and the people that usually fall for it will be above 40’s because they are the ones that do not understand the way it works. To ensure your safety and to avoid scams like this one, do not click on any unknown links and do not answer or download files from unknown senders.
More importantly, before putting in your login details, always check the spelling of the url and make sure it is the correct one. The best way to detect the fake links is to install the latest antivirus software and deal with the sites that have valid SSL layers. Also, report the phishing attempts to the concerned representatives quickly and they will take action against the culprits in a short timeframe.
Recover money from Two Billion Dollar Crypto Scam
The Two Billion Dollar Crypto Scam shattered the trust of people. Many investors lost big amounts and are trying their best to make withdrawals. For the time being, Thodax exchange might handle the situation, but in the long run their future does not look good. Exchanges that are not transparent have been known to cause problems during withdrawals and they might even sell your information to third parties or the dark web.
We are not saying Thodax is also a fraudulent exchange, but with all the allegations and legal battles, it is better to be safe than sorry. So, withdrawing the funds from their platform is a good idea. In case, if you are not able to get your money back, then you need to act quickly to safeguard your interests.
First and foremost, notify your local authorities and then hire a recovery agency. Use the contact form below to reach our experts and we will help you get back your funds as soon as humanly possible. If you have any specific query, then we would be more than happy to address it and all you have to do is take advantage of our free service.
Verdict
Many ICOs are flooding the market and new exchanges are seeing a boom in their business statistics. The bull run of the cryptocurrencies have sparked the public’s interest and the market is clearly high on euphoria without any sort of doubt. However, as retail investors one should not let the crowd dictate your judgements instead be rational in your approach and never stay too long with the crowd.
The Two Billion Dollar Crypto Scam is just a reminder about the need for regulation and the height of ignorance of the retail side. Though this incident has got the attention of most regulators, we are sure that it won’t be the last one of its kind. So, stay alert and make sure you fully research about any organisation before you start investing with them.
Remember not to invest into things you do not understand. The real path to building wealth is never easy and history has proven that point again and again.
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