Crypto Threats on the Rise as Bitcoin Surpasses $100K

Bitcoin price Surged by 30% after the US election, and so did crypto scams

Bitcoin is on a tear. For the first time in its history, the digital currency surpassed $100,000 in early December, having surged more than 30% since election night in the US.

Whether or not the optimism about President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-crypto rhetoric on the campaign trail is be realized, the value of virtual coins continues to tick up. But so too do scams and malware designed to steal your crypto.

ESET’s latest Threat Report reveals that detections of cryptostealers rose by 56 percent from H1 to H2 2024 – across Windows, Android and macOS. It’s time to take a look at the latest threats to your digital currency, and how to keep it safe.

Why crypto is so attractive to cybercriminals

The FBI says it received over 69,000 public complaints about financial fraud relating to cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, ether or tether in 2023. And although these comprised just 10% of the total number of financial fraud complaints to the Bureau, they accounted for almost half of total losses, or $5.6 billion for the year.

That’s a 43% annual increase, with cryptocurrency stolen across all the major cybercrime types tracked by the FBI, from malware and identity theft, to ransomware, phishing and romance scams. However, the majority of cryptocurrency losses in 2023 came from investment fraud (71%) and call center fraud, including tech/customer support scams and government impersonation scams (10%).

The growth in such crime is a reflection of the growing role cryptocurrency plays in global finance. But it’s also favored for specific reasons, according to the FBI. The decentralized nature of virtual currency, the speed of irreversible transactions, and the ability to transfer it around the globe make it popular among cybercriminals, and difficult for victims to recover once stolen.

Crypto threats to beware of

So where was criminal activity in 2024 focused? The latest ESET Threat Report reveals some intriguing findings:

ESET’s Threat Report for the first half of 2024 also has some interesting insights:

It’s not just phishing and malware that you need to be aware of when it comes to cryptocurrency theft. As is clear from the FBI’s figures, fraudsters have designed a range of scams intended to part you with your virtual currency. According to a Chainalysis report in August: “With several billion in inflows, scams with a crypto nexus are mounting in 2024 and are one of the largest areas of illicit activity YTD.”

It highlights pig butchering, which typically blends romance scams with investment fraud, as one of the most common means of crypto theft.

How to keep your crypto safe

All of which puts extra pressure on you to keep that cryptocurrency safe. There are various measures you can take to mitigate the threat from phishing, info-stealing/cryptostealing malware, scams and more. Consider the following:

The fact that the FBI now has its own dedicated cryptocurrency crime report indicates the scale of the problem. Stay alert, and don’t let anyone get their hands on your digital assets.