Crypto Fraud and Recovery Scams with Nick Smart

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 “recovery assistance” from that scam. Today’s 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’t 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’t 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’t know the future of recovery scams.

• [13:43] - Nick explains “hackers for hire”.

• [15:13] - These scams aren’t much different than others, but the way they find targets is unique.

• [18:23] - Some people think crypto currency is completely anonymous. But that’s 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’ve 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.