By DailyBitcoin Editor
Crypto fraudsters may be taking advantage of June being Pride Month to target the LGBTQIA+ community, Massachusetts government says.
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- Massachusetts warns LGBTQIA+ community about crypto scams
- The scams are especially targeting community social networks
- Scammers are taking advantage of Pride Month
Fraudsters are increasingly looking for new ways to find victims, following a host of traps, which vary as they are discovered. In fact, several countries in Latin America and Europe have already joined in a campaign to alert about fake cryptocurrencies.
Now, the government of Massachusetts, United States, has warned about the prevalence of cryptocurrency scams targeting the LGBTQIA+ community. These would be focusing on social networks, dating applications and other places used by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and other dissidence community.
According to the government of that northeastern US state, scammers may be taking advantage of June being Pride Month to target this community. In this regard, he cited a previous warning from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“Scammers may contact their victim posing as a friend, partner, or family member to request funds due to an emergency or debt,” according to the warning. “Alternatively, scammers will develop new relationships with their target, often with romantic intentions, and then receive monetary gifts and steal personal information.”
A “warning signal” for such a scam would be a request for payment in cryptocurrency, he added.
Beware of friend requests
Warning signs from the state government include being wary of social media friend requests from new profiles or with minimal previous activity and matches on dating apps that move quickly but refuse connection in person.
Among other precautions given by the institution are:
- Never send or transfer funds to someone you don’t know or have never met personally.
- Do not share passwords or other sensitive information with anyone
- Avoid clicking links or opening attachments in unsolicited emails
- Minimize the amount of personal data available on social media accounts
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission produced an analysis that said consumers had lost more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency-related fraud from January 2021 to March this year. Romance scams were among the top three fraud types along with bogus investment schemes and corporate/government phishing scams.
Sources: Massachusetts Blog, coin desk, FCC, File, Archive
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