The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently issued a warning about cryptocurrency scams happening on Tiktok.
The BBB said that many people were coming across videos on Tiktok showing a pile of cash and they are informed by the creator that they were able to make it in just a couple of days via crypto investments.
BBB’s warning
On Friday, the BBB warned that the popular video-hosting website, Tiktok, was being increasingly used for running crypto scams.
The Better Business Bureau was established in 1912 and is a nonprofit private organization that assists people in finding brands, businesses, and charities they can trust.
It has been doing this for almost 110 years and it recently said that with the rising popularity of Tiktok, it had attracted the attention of con artists as well.
The BBB said that they had come across a number of new reports from their Scam Tracker, which pertained to this money-flipping scam.
They said that people were being targeted when they scroll through Tiktok videos and were shown stacks of money that are allegedly earned through investing in cryptocurrency.
The scams
The nonprofit said that these scammers then make promises of turning cryptocurrency worth a few hundred dollars into thousands in a short span of time.
In fact, the BBB said that sometimes these scams also offer a 100% guarantee for tripling your money in just a week.
The organization said that when people get in touch with the scammer through a messaging app, or social channels like Telegram, WhatsApp, or others, they are extremely professional and polite.
They will go ahead and ask investors to send a couple of hundred dollars via a digital wallet service, such as Venmo, Zelle, or PayPal.
But, when you ask them to return their money, the scammer then demands fees. Initially, it may appear to be harmless, but they ask for fees repeatedly and always promise to return more than what you have spent.
The outcome
The BBB cautioned further that questioning the scammer will bring on scare tactics, such as the threat of legal action, or that not paying would result in missing out on a massive return.
Unfortunately, whatever money that people send is used for lining the scammers’ pockets and there will be no return on investment and the initial deposit is also gone.
The BBB provided in-depth details of the said money-flipping scams and also gave some advice on how people can avoid them.
It said that people need to use good judgment and they should also do their research before they invest in any crypto scheme.
Furthermore, the organization said that people should not let their scare tactics push them into anything and should also have a proper understanding of how digital wallet services function.
Crypto scams have become quite common over social media platforms and many like Facebook and Twitter have already been used for fooling people.
Since Tiktok’s users are on the rise, it is not surprising that scam artists have now opted for this platform.