Belgian investors lost $12M to crypto & forex scams last year by clicking on ads

[Charles-Tim]

Although, this is a crypto and forex scam in Belguim, the scammers are making use of malicious platforms to scam victims by using fake advertisements on social media featuring pictures of celebrities, directing them to provide information to bad actors. The scammers lured victims to invest high amount, they will also try to persuade victim to let them take control of the victim's computer remotely so to be able to make certain payment, promising high yield return. It is also etimated that fraudulent platforms offering investments in binary options, foreign exchange market products, and contracts for differences, it may represent a surge in the number of crypto fraud cases across Belgium.

Belgian authorities have taken preventive measures to tackle the problem. In February, the FSMA blacklisted more than 140 crypto-related fraudulent websites. However, the FPS estimated that investors in Belgium typically lose about $152 million to such scams each year, with most incidents going unreported.

Losses due to crypto scams are on the rise in Belgium.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/belgian-investors-lost-12m-to-crypto-and-forex-scams-over-the-summer
Although, according to cointelegraph, all these happened in Belgium, but I brought it here because it can happen in any country of the world. I blame people because they do not realize while they should have their privacy on the internet, why they should not also be clicking on ads be it legit or not, but ignorance is hard to deal with. Second, we should more put the blame on platforms advertising ads, google and social media are all at the front advertising these ads, which are not well monitored but helping scammers to advertise their ads too. Thirdly, blaming the governments should not be excluded, they are the first and most to be blamed, they are only trying to reduce what has been done and affected people, they do not like to prevent something from happening, due to the money these companies are paying the governments, governments allow them to be monetizing their sites, apps and search engines with ads which many of it are from scammers.

But if we can not control the government to enforce tight laws and regulations against the companies advertising, like, google, social media, and other companies displaying ads, we should help ourselves to have online privacy and not clicking on ads.

People, stop clicking on ads, they are more than deadly and be careful of scammers.

[Coyster]

Users blame Google for not filtering ads, and most of this ads very well 'stocked up' with malware are presented to crypto users which they click and redirects them to be scammed, but mind you that the average Joe on the internet knows that Google search/Chrome for instance is a bad choice for browser/search engine, but they still use it. Users should see this thread: Privacy, ways to protection, to help them choose good browsers and search engines for privacy and security. That being said, ad blockers should also be used by crypto users, these privacy responsibilities are obviously a must for all to protect your device, data and funds from being compromised. I'll quote this to summarize it all:

Stop using Google to find the website of exchanges, services, or wallet.

Stop following random links without checking the URL.

Start using uBlock Origin.

Never type your seed in anywhere.

How many times does this need repeated?

[NotATether]

~

Start using uBlock Origin.

There is no uBlock Origin for Safari, which is the browser the vast majority of iPhone users use, there used to be a version for Safari but it was discontinued because Apple changed around it's ad-blocking API. So anything running iOS 13 and up (iPhone 8 and everything made after it) can't run uBlock Origin on Safari. The only solution is to use another browser like Chrome, or to stop using iOS.

A lot of investors still manage their portfolios from their mobile phones, and it's too easy on phones to accidentally click on an ad so they end up getting phished, and to me a phone isn't as secure as using a desktop with an ad blocker, for financial trading.

[plvbob0070]

the scammers are making use of malicious platforms to scam victims by using fake advertisements on social media featuring pictures of celebrities, directing them to provide information to bad actors. The scammers lured victims to invest high amount, they will also try to persuade victim to let them take control of the victim's computer remotely so to be able to make certain payment, promising high yield return.

Here they are again, using these shady tactics to draw attention. Despite seeing a significant sign, many people still assumed that this kind of investment represents an earning opportunity. However, they don't visualize the risk they may encounter. Investors should be responsible for their own money, as scams continue regardless of diverse situations. Never put your trust in an ad without confirming if it is legitimate. Always do your research.

[o_e_l_e_o]

The only solution is to use another browser like Chrome, or to stop using iOS.

Stop using iOS is the best solution, either by getting a different device or jail breaking your phone. You can never really be private using iOS, you cannot install the add ons you want (because Apple won't let you), and you can't even use the browser you want. Every browser on iOS is really just a re-skinned Safari, because Apple won't allow anything else.

Having said that Chrome will always be the worst possible choice.

Firefox is one of the least bad choices on iOS, and does have some built in privacy features to make up for the fact you cannot install add ons: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-ios. There's also Onion browser: https://onionbrowser.com/

[Porfirii]

The only solution is to use another browser like Chrome, or to stop using iOS.

Stop using iOS is the best solution, either by getting a different device or jail breaking your phone. You can never really be private using iOS, you cannot install the add ons you want (because Apple won't let you), and you can't even use the browser you want. Every browser on iOS is really just a re-skinned Safari, because Apple won't allow anything else.

Having said that Chrome will always be the worst possible choice.

Firefox is one of the least bad choices on iOS, and does have some built in privacy features to make up for the fact you cannot install add ons: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-ios. There's also Onion browser: https://onionbrowser.com/

What do you think about the Brave browser on iOS? and MacOS? they claim that the browser is privacy oriented, but I have read both kinds of comments on these claims and I'm not really sure if it is a good choice or not.

Tor is great for privacy, of course, but as long as you don't enable Javascript it is quite inconvenient to use it as your everyday browser.

[erikoy]

What do you think about the Brave browser on iOS? and MacOS? they claim that the browser is privacy oriented, but I have read both kinds of comments on these claims and I'm not really sure if it is a good choice or not.

Tor is great for privacy, of course, but as long as you don't enable Javascript it is quite inconvenient to use it as your everyday browser.

Whatever security system that a device had if hackers or phishers are targeted you they can stil managed to get your important details.

Phishing is very common. If a user is not very cautious on site or links that he clicked on then high chance he could download malware and installed it automatically. Aside from that many phishers now using ads to get notice from the users that might interest them as well. There are many sophisticated fake sites out there and this is why even the most secured browsing platform of user using still has the chance to get compromise.

[akirasendo17]

it has been the tactics over and over , by this people, from email links, to advertisement
I think the main reason why those people are scam is because of their curiosity and the
intension to earn in minutes, as far as we know ads and links showing the fastest way
to earn, this is very effected , that is why this scammers is taking advantage of it, if you
are not checking or reading, emails or links , and to check if its legit or not, then you are
also a victim, this tells us that reading , news and learning something in the web is very
important, i have encounter a lot of this scams , but i make sure i double check everything
before clicking , like in the saying, think before you click.

[NotATether]

The only solution is to use another browser like Chrome, or to stop using iOS.

Stop using iOS is the best solution, either by getting a different device or jail breaking your phone.

Jailbreaking iOS is actually even worse than not using iOS at all because jailbreaking destroys the "walled garden" security defenses that stop you from tinkering with your phone, there is a ton of malware written for jailbroken iOS that cannot run on normal iOS because it doesn't give you root privileges, whereas in normal iOS the only way to take over a device is to send a payload in a phishing email that exploits a browser vulnerability followed by a kernel vulnerability, and there are shady hacking companies (hackingteam) around that make it easy for anyone with a $2 million dollar budget to target someone with it.

Even the root password for the millions of iDevices in existence is well-known, it's "alpine" but Apple doesn't bother changing it because you can't get root access on iOS without Jailbreaking it, something they don't support only so they can have a leverage in security talking points for their marketing.
This means everyone who jailbreaks their iPhone and doesn't know better to change the password is already exposing themselves to attacks.

Rooted android has all the security issues that jailbroken iOS have. Which is why I recommend nobody use those devices for financial activities.

[boyptc]

I'm sorry but why were those victims didn't find those ads annoying? I'm sure that many of us here are very annoyed by those ads and will never click on them again.

Those ads contain malicious links, too bad that many of those viewers are not aware of this.

[Charles-Tim]

What do you think about the Brave browser on iOS? and MacOS? they claim that the browser is privacy oriented, but I have read both kinds of comments on these claims and I'm not really sure if it is a good choice or not.

Tor is great for privacy, of course, but as long as you don't enable Javascript it is quite inconvenient to use it as your everyday browser.

I am using Brave browser before, I was not using it for any reward or profit, I put on the shield and also turn the reward off, it actually block ads, but some members of this forum said brave is not good. And I come to think of it, some people will be burned to turn the reward on, if turned on, brave are directly selling your information to third party which is very dangerous. So, brave browser is not recommended.

I will only recommend three browsers which are firefox, especially the firefox focus, duckduckgo which is even the browser on tor, duckduckgo is highly recommended, and lastly is tor broswer, they are the best privacy browsers. For maximum privacy, tor broswer is the best but its internet connection is slower than the other two broswers.

I'm sorry but why were those victims didn't find those ads annoying? I'm sure that many of us here are very annoyed by those ads and will never click on them again

It is because we know about how malicious activities look like, that is why we are not clicking on the ads, ads be it legit or not, it should not be clicked upon.

[o_e_l_e_o]

What do you think about the Brave browser on iOS? and MacOS? they claim that the browser is privacy oriented, but I have read both kinds of comments on these claims and I'm not really sure if it is a good choice or not.

I rate Brave browser pretty poorly at the best of times. Their claims of being the best browser for privacy and security are way overblown - they require KYC, they whitelist Facebook and Twitter trackers, they still serve you targeted ads, they let third parties embed code in to their browser, they hide referral links in their browser, etc., all in the name of profit. On top of that, as I said above, every browser on iOS is really just Safari with a different paint job. There isn't really a good way to browse securely and privately on Apple devices. You can stay secure but have no privacy using iOS, or increase your privacy at risk of security by jail breaking, as NotATether has explained.

The least worst option for iOS is either Firefox or Onion browser.