1.3.3 Cryptocurrency ICO Scam

Related Articles

• How to identify cryptocurrency ICO scams, Investopedia

• Cryptoscam in Discord: Fake ICO, Kaspersky

• Anatomy of a Telegram Scam, Coinbase (lists many scams; the fake ICO is one of them)

• Retired Engineer Loses Life Savings to Fake 'Professor' Crypto Scam , Coinpaper. Describes ICO scam & fraudulent trading platform

Related Crime Schemes

A particular instance of this scam may embed one or more of these related schemes.

• Fraudulent Platform: Any scheme that relies on custom built software that assists the crime. Includes fraudulent trading platforms, fraudulent clickworking platforms, and the like.

Victim Targeting Context

The scammer may use one or more of the following techniques to reach the victim.

• Advertising Approach: The scammer uses advertising to passively reach the victim.

• Targeted Conversational Approach: The scammer approaches the victim through targeted, topical online conversation.

Social Engineering: Psychological Manipulations

The scammer may use one or more of these psychological techniques to accomplish the scam.

• Boost of Trust: The scammer employs an initial boost of trust technique to increase trust with the victim. An example is letting the victim withdraw some of their earnings in order to show that the scheme is legitimate.

• Celebrity: The scammer claims a celebrity endorsement in order to increase trust or interest from the victim.

• Codes or Jargon: The scammer will often use codes or technical jargon about finance or cryptocurrency to confuse the victim or to add legitimacy to the scam.

• Easy money: The scammer promises easy money or makes appeals designed to leverage victim's greed.

• Peer Involvement: The scammer uses the victim's peers to encourage the victim to engage in the scam, claiming that "others are doing it" or suggesting that the victim will miss out. Often the peers are also scammers.

• Secret Knowledge: The scammer may imply that the investment scheme relies on secret or hidden knowledge.

Social Engineering: Impersonation Techniques

The scammer may impersonate one or more of the following groups as part of the scam.

• Banking / Finance: The scammer impersonates a banking official or financial institution.

• Business or NonProfit: The scammer impersonates a business or nonprofit.

• Catfishing: The scammer creates a fictitious online profile or persona.

EBNF Definition

AD_1_3_3 = "AD", ("marketplace" | "socialmedia" | "otherAd" | "searchEngine" | "messagingApp" | "organicAd");

ART_1_3_3 = "ART", ("appMessages" | "image" | "imageAI" | "video" | "videoAI" | "advertisements" | "smsMessage" | "emailMessage" | "spoofedSender" | "socialMediaProfile" | "websiteCode" | "websiteScreenshots" | "appCode" | "appScreenshots" | "cryptocurrencyAddress" | "socialMediaPosts");

CRIME_1_3_3 = "CRIME", ("fraudulentPlatform");

CTA_1_3_3 = "CTA", ("replyOnApp" | "reply");

IMP_1_3_3 = "IMP", ("banking" | "business" | "catfish" | "celebrity");

PSY_1_3_3 = "PSY", ("codesJargon" | "easyMoney" | "initialBoost" | "peerInvolvement");

TARGET_1_3_3 = "TARGET", ("advertisingTarget" | "targetedConversational");

Scam_1_3_3 = "Cryptocurrency ICO Scam",
    "1.3.3",
    {AD_1_3_3},
    {ART_1_3_3},
    {IMP_1_3_3},
    {PSY_1_3_3},
    {TARGET_1_3_3};