Provided by CoinLedger.io
The crypto market is rapidly growing in popularity, largely due to the emphasis Donald Trump placed on the industry during his presidential campaign.
As more and more people begin to invest in cryptocurrency, scams are becoming more prevalent. It’s estimated that individuals lost $51.3 billion (£40.6 billion) after falling victim to crypto scams in 2024.
Romance scams are becoming a point of particular concern, with the FBI estimating that there were over 40,000 victims of romance fraud in 2023.
In order to clamp down on their increasing occurrence, experts at the cryptocurrency tax software site, Coin Ledger, have created a guide on some of the warning signs of romance scams and why it’s so important to be aware of them in the crypto sphere.
What are crypto romance scams?
Romance scams begin when the scammer creates a fake profile on social media to approach the intended victim. Scammers will typically approach victims on social media sites, such as Instagram and Facebook, dating sites, and LinkedIn.
This will then be the beginning of a slow and calculated process in which the scammer maintains daily communication with the victim to win over their trust. In some cases, the talking stage of a romance scam can last several months or even years. This process has become known as ‘pig butchering,’ in which the scammer will win over the victim’s trust solely to steal their financial assets more easily.
Scammers will often be complimentary and will express a desire to find out personal information about the victim. Once enough time has passed, the scammer will then start to bring up the topic of cryptocurrency, with many scammers claiming that their family has insider trading knowledge and have made thousands through crypto investments.
The scammer will then encourage the victim to invest in a specific investment opportunity. Once the victim invests a considerable sum of digital assets into the illegitimate investment platform, the scammer will then shut the project down and will become untraceable, resulting in victims losing thousands.
Romance scammers will typically target vulnerable people, which is why the majority of victims of these scams will be older and will often have little understanding surrounding the crypto market.
The crypto market is becoming a go-to opportunity for romance scams, largely because scammers can transfer funds quickly, enabling them to disappear without the victim noticing. Unlike traditional currencies, crypto transactions are not monitored by any regulatory authorities, such as banks. This enables scammers to gain a sense of anonymity, with transactions being difficult to trace and recover.
What are the signs that you’re falling for a crypto romance scam?
Contacted out of the blue:
If you have been contacted out of the blue by an unknown account online, then it’s important not to let your guard down. Social media sites are one of the most common ways in which romance scammers will contact potential victims.
Rather than immediately engaging in conversation, take time to look through the person’s account and if it looks suspicious then block them immediately.
Suspicious social media account:
Romance scammers will often have a public account that uses other people’s images to catfish the victim. If a person’s social media account looks ‘too good to be true,’ then it often is. Scammers will typically have few followers on social media due to hastily building a fake profile, so it’s important to look out for this.
Some romance scammers will create additional fake profiles on other social media sites, such as LinkedIn, so it’s important to do your research before engaging in conversation.
Uses ‘AI-generated’ language:
Romance scammers typically operate within a wider team, which means that they often follow a script to win over the victim’s trust. If the messages sent by the individual seem rigid or unrealistic, then it’s likely to be a scam.
Are over-complimentary:
When trying to win over a victim’s trust, scammers will typically use over-complimentary language and will frequently use phrases such as ‘honey’ and ‘baby’ in conversation.
This type of language is intended to trick the victim into forming an emotional connection, which will then make it easier for scammers to later influence the victim into investing in a fake crypto project.
Will frequently endorse cryptocurrency:
If the individual frequently brings up the topic of cryptocurrency, specifically in the context of how much money they’ve made from it, then this should be seen as a red flag.
Romance scammers will claim to have made thousands by investing in cryptocurrency and will often upload images on social media that seemingly adhere to this luxury lifestyle. Be wary if the individual continuously mentions cryptocurrency investments, as this is often planting the seeds for encouraging victims to invest in a fake project at a later date.
Creates a sense of urgency:
In order to try and coerce victims into investing in a fake crypto project, the scammer will typically create a false sense of urgency, advertising that this project is a ‘one-off’ and ‘unmissable’ investment opportunity. Romance scammers tend to play on the victim’s emotions to convince them to invest quicker.
How can you avoid crypto romance scams?
Do your research:
If an unknown account contacts you out of the blue on social media, then do your research before initiating contact.
Check out the account’s followers to verify whether they are being followed by real people or whether the social media account has been hastily made by a scammer.
Use Google reverse image search:
The majority of scammers use other people’s photos in an attempt to catfish potential victims, which is why it’s so important to use Google reverse image search to verify an individual’s identity.
If the scammer has been using other people’s images, then the original source of the photo will be revealed by using Google reverse image search. If this is the case, then block the account immediately and do not engage in conversation.
Ensure that you investigate every crypto project:
Before investing in any cryptocurrency project, it’s important that you do your research. Scammers will often advertise these investment opportunities to be time sensitive, but this should not prevent you from looking into the project in more detail.
If possible, check online reviews about the investment opportunity and seek outside advice from family and friends. If an investment opportunity seems ‘too good to be true,’ then it likely is.
Report the scammer immediately:
If you notice any suspicious activity, then it’s important to report the potential scammer to the relevant authorities. A lot of victims do not report that they’ve been the victim of a romance scam, but it’s important to flag any suspicious activity immediately to prevent others from becoming victims of the same romance scammer.
As scammers typically operate within a wider team, it’s common that they will be scamming multiple people at once, which is why it’s so crucial to report any suspicious activity as soon as possible.
David Kemmerer, the co-founder and CEO of Coin Ledger, commented:
“Unfortunately, the crypto market is becoming a dominant space for romance scams, largely because of the anonymity associated with crypto investing. Because of this, it’s important to remain hypervigilant to reduce the risk of falling victim to a romance scam.
“If an individual is strongly influencing you to invest in a specific crypto project, then it’s important to take a step back. Scammers will often rely on a pre-established emotional connection to convince victims to invest, but it’s crucial that this doesn’t prevent you from doing your own research.
“Romance scammers will often target vulnerable people who are uncertain about how social media and the wider crypto market works. Taking a few minutes to Google the name of both the individual and the investment opportunity in question can be the difference between financial protection and loss.”
NIST Adds SandboxAQ’s HQC Algorithm to its List of Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards
Posted in Commentary with tags SandboxAQ on March 27, 2025 by itnerdSandboxAQ has announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has officially selected HQC (Hamming Quasi-Cyclic) as the fifth algorithm in its suite of post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) standards. Out of these five algorithms, three will be used for signatures. The other two, HQC and ML-KEM, will be the NIST-approved algorithms that will protect the confidentiality of communications across the Internet, cellular networks, payment systems, and more.
The selection of HQC marks SandboxAQ’s second major contribution to NIST’s post-quantum standardization effort, a key step in ensuring the protection of the world’s most critical data. This landmark decision represents a significant milestone in the global transition to a robust, quantum-safe encryption future and further solidifies SandboxAQ at the forefront of cryptographic innovation.
HQC is a key encapsulation mechanism designed to secure the exchange of encryption keys in a quantum-resistant manner. Unlike traditional public-key encryption systems such as the widely-used public key cryptosystem, RSA, and elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC), which quantum computers render obsolete, HQC is built on the well-established mathematical foundation of error-correcting codes, which is not vulnerable to quantum attacks. It provides strong security guarantees while balancing performance factors such as computational efficiency and key size, which are primary considerations for large-scale real-world deployments. In NIST’s final selection report, the HQC algorithm, co-invented by SandboxAQ team members, stood out as a robust and reliable candidate for wide-scale adoption across industries, following multiple rounds of global cryptanalysis and peer review.
Prior to HQC, the SandboxAQ team also played a significant role in the development of SPHINCS+, one of the initial algorithms already selected by NIST as part of its initial set of PQC standards in 2022. With HQC now formally accepted into the standardization process, SandboxAQ has contributed to two of the five critical PQC standards for key exchanges and signatures, demonstrating deep and sustained leadership in quantum-resistant cybersecurity and ushering in a safer digital world.
SandboxAQ has a unique position to improve cryptographic postures and ensure better compliance, fewer outages, and robust cybersecurity. It produces world-class cryptographic research, internationally recognized standards, and widely adopted cryptographic innovations. Leveraging this world-leading expertise, SandboxAQ also offers an industry-leading cryptography management product, uniquely positioning it within the global cryptographic landscape. Our flagship cryptographic offering, AQtive Guard, is trained on billions of cryptographic findings meticulously structured and enriched with supplemental data by our world-class cryptography team. By cross-referencing and augmenting our customers’ inventories, we empower efficient exploration and actionable insights. Leveraging our distinctive AI approach, seamless third-party integrations, and comprehensive 360-degree coverage sensors, AQtive Guard delivers unparalleled visibility and effectiveness for the protection of enterprises and governments.
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