# US BANK FALLS VICTIM TO CRYPTO SCAM
The Heartland Tri-State Bank located in Kansas has succumbed to a Crypto Currency Scam making it the fourth US Bank joining First Republic Bank, Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank to fall due to Crypto Currency.

The news has sent shockwaves across Elkhart a tiny US town in Kansas. The bank was well known amongst the community and had been providing financial support for many social and community initiatives and even sponsoring local sporting clubs. The CEO Shane Hanes was also the president of the local school and was well known within the community as someone who was passionate and supportive.

The scam allegedly caught the CEO, Shane Hanes off guard and is tipped to have been a total loss of USD 54 Million however, fortunately for impacted clients the banks insurance will kick in to cover the financial losses caused by the scam. The issue has seen Hanes retire as CEO and the FBI is tipped to have opened a case to investigate the matter further however, no chargers have been laid as yet.

The Heartland Tri-State Bank only had a total asset base of USD 139 Million so the scam has significantly impacted the Banks financial viability and has since folded.

PIG BUTCHERING SCAM

While the information surrounding the scam are yet unclear it is possible that what entailed was a Pig Butchering Scam. These Scams originated in China where they are known as shāzhūpán and nicknamed Pig Butchering in the way they operate but first establishing a fake trading business that looks legitimate.

Scammers hook investors in by having them utilise a fake trading profile that provides the victims with fake margin trading wins and while the victim believes their account is growing from good trades they are encouraged to add more funds. This approach enables the scammers to retain their victim for longer periods of time and clean out more money. Eventually once the victim is drained from funds their handler who is often pretending to be a broker disappears leaving the victim unable to withdraw funds.

The scam is a relatively new method and only really emerged three years ago along side Crypto Currency hype that saw a lot of people with limited knowledge of the sector mainly older people wanting to cash in on the rise and popularity of Bitcoin. Their lack if IT knowledge and the relatively new scam caught many off guard and it has become one of the most successful scams in the sector costing Billions of dollars in financial losses.

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CRYPTO SCAMS CONTINUE TO RISE

According to Comparitech a company that tracks Crypto scams the total amount of stolen funds amounts to USD 25 Billion. It is important to note that the company tracks Crypto scams committed on the blockchain so may not include Pig Butchering Scams and other forms of email phishing scams. There has been quite the shift in how scams have operated since data commenced being collected.

As you can see from the attached graph early years of Crypto adoption saw single projects or exchanges be targeted or commit scams resulting in large amounts of funds being stolen in a single transaction.

At the height of the pandemic in 2021 we saw the largest amount of scams undertaken resulting in a highly profitable year for scammers and although significant funds and initiatives were launched to combat scams. 2022 still saw large amounts of funds stolen from people with the type of scams committed changing to be rug pulls.

Rug pulls have continued to grow in popularity and the preferred method of scamming people as Crypto exchanges become more cyber secure and come under more scrutiny from regulators creating a shift in how scams are undertaken.

Although the top 3 Crypto Scams being OneCoin, Africrypt and GainBitcoin continue to allegedly involve their creators in some form either by Ponzi Scheme or by allegedly founders dumping all the crypto and fleeing with Billions of dollars in people’s assets.

SECURITY IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
While everyone would like to invest in Crypto Currency it is important to undertake due diligence and take responsibility for your own security as the sector is still in it’s infancy stages and the lack of regulatory oversight means that there is significant risk. Coupled with the anonymity of the digital revolution it can be difficult to pinpoint the location of scammers or even the identity of the people you are engaging with.

If you don’t know how to access digital assets it is best to use the services or a well known and reputable trading company rather than risking your money on a platform you have no knowledge of.
Image sources provided supplemented by Canva Pro subscription. This is not financial advice and readers are advised to undertake their own research or seek professional financial services.

Posted Using LeoFinance Alpha