Podcasts News Easy Prey Crypto Fraud and Recovery Scams with Nick Smart

Crypto Fraud and Recovery Scams with Nick Smart

Published: March 29, 2023, 11 a.m.

We are all being targeted by imposters on social media, websites, and dating sites. Once a person has been scammed, your information can be added to a database where criminals can purchase your data and then offer you \u201crecovery assistance\u201d from that scam. Today\u2019s guest is Nick Smart. Nick has 18 years experience as a professional Intelligence and Security Analyst working for government agencies and private companies as well as experience as a compliance officer.

Show Notes:

  • [0:57] - Nick describes his current role and his background in security.

  • [1:41] - Nick admits that he is generally very pessimistic and initially wasn\u2019t drawn to the crypto industry.

  • [2:55] - Why does crypto have a high reputation for fraud?

  • [4:15] - Once you are scammed, your information can be sold to more criminals and then you will be targeted again.

  • [6:52] - It is very easy to believe that you would get the money back if you act fast which is falling victim to a sense of urgency.

  • [8:01] - For some people, losing out on a few hundred dollars doesn\u2019t impact them much, but for others it could be the money they need to feed their family.

  • [10:18] - When something goes wrong, people look to those in authority for help, but law enforcement is catching up to how they can deal with the problem.

  • [12:29] - The laws surrounding crypto currency are very new and we don\u2019t know the future of recovery scams.

  • [13:43] - Nick explains \u201chackers for hire\u201d.

  • [15:13] - These scams aren\u2019t much different than others, but the way they find targets is unique.

  • [18:23] - Some people think crypto currency is completely anonymous. But that\u2019s not entirely correct.

  • [21:05] - The area of conversion is where we can try to find someone responsible for money laundering.

  • [22:29] - The block chains are useful in following and piecing together to find someone.

  • [24:35] - Crypto currency is hyper transparent which is not necessarily a bad thing.

  • [26:30] - KYC stands for Know Your Customer and Nick explains what that means to a financial institution.

  • [28:37] - If you\u2019ve lost money through a crash or a scam and someone approaches you claiming they can help you get your money back, be skeptical.

  • [31:39] - Real asset recovery is not a fast process.

  • [35:13] - Individual cases and the experiences vary, but for the most part, block chains want to help.

  • [37:42] - It happens to the best of us. No one is immune.

  • [39:22] - There are more costs than just monetary.

  • [42:24] - It doesn\u2019t help the victim to stigmatize being scammed.

  • [44:01] - Nick shares ways to report crypto fraud.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.\xa0

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