Can Crypto Theft & Fraud Be Prevented?
February 15, 2019
A recent research study carried out by CipherTrace has revealed that an astonishing $1.7 billion of cryptocurrency was obtained by illicit means in 2018.
With over 1,500 cryptocurrencies in existence, and billions of dollars being bought and sold on crypto exchanges, there are a plethora of opportunities for fraudsters to illicitly use the currency.
Cryptocurrency thefts and scams, especially within crypto exchanges, has increased over 3 fold from 2017 to 2018, seeing a huge $950 million stolen from crypto exchanges alone.
According to CoinMarketCap, the daily trading volume of the crypto market is currently around $13 million – but it’s also being reported that approximately $6 billion of this daily crypto volume is being faked. That makes almost 50% of the market’s volume fraudulent.
One of the biggest scams that was seen within the crypto market was ‘SIM swapping’, a kind of identity theft involving taking control over a victim’s phone number which usually allows the fraudsters to gain access to two-factor authentication codes linked to an account.
How can this be prevented?
The losses of cryptocurrency registered in 2018 alone highlights that a more robust process of authentication is required. This would ensure that a user genuinely is the registered account holder. It will also provide more confidence to buyers and sellers and reduce the volumes of crypto being stolen.
How can we help?
Acuant’s identity solution, Acuant Identity’s Alternative and Social Data can provide crypto businesses with the means to verify and authenticate users in real-time.
Acuant Identity’s Alternative and Social Data combines alternative data with traditional methods to deliver a robust and global solution.
Through a simple and frictionless user journey, this solution enables businesses to confidently verify and authenticate their customers.
