An FDACS bulletin indicated signals to help citizens identify possible phone scams through cryptocurrencies.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) recently issued a warning outlining information for identifying robocall auto warranty scams. It should be noted that the warning from the US department indicates that the scammers request to pay for the false services through “gift cards and cryptocurrencies.”
FDACS Newsletter Highlights
The recent surge in consumer complaints against the rise in toll scams, in which scammers use pre-recorded calls to offer fraudulent services, prompted the FDACS to direct phone companies to focus on moderating robocall traffic.
Also, in the newsletter, FDACS highlighted several red flags to identify potential phone scams.
“If you are asked to pay with a gift card or cryptocurrency, it is a scam.” Details the bulletin.
In addition to asking Floridians to refrain from making payments in cryptocurrencies, the FDACS reiterated that no government official would ask for personal information, such as your Social Security number or credit card number. In addition, the department added: “only fraudsters will require one of those types of digital payments, once they send the money, it probably can’t be recovered.”
However, despite the fact that the FDACS bulletin pointed out the impossibility of tracing the cryptocurrency assets of cyber fraudsters, many companies, such as Velodrome and Curve Finance, have now successfully recovered certain stolen assets thanks to the transparency of Blockchain technology.
Banning Cryptocurrencies is No Longer an Option
On the other hand, on September 5, United States Congressman Brad Sherman, known to be a strong critic of digital assets, acknowledged the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and stated that banning cryptocurrencies “was no longer an option.”
In a recent interview for the Los Angeles Times, Brad Sherman argued that the government “had made a mistake by not banning cryptocurrencies years ago,” when there was less money concentrated in the sector.
“I don’t think we’re going to get to a ban any time soon. Lobbying money and campaign contribution money works, and that’s why we haven’t banned cryptocurrencies. We didn’t ban them initially because we didn’t know they were important, and we don’t ban them now because there’s too much money and power behind them.” Sherman said.
Currently, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization sits at around $1.04 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The maximum capitalization reached by the cryptocurrency market was approximately $2.9 billion in November last year.
Notably, most US lawmakers, Sherman included, favor implementing strict regulatory policies on cryptocurrencies.
Sherman and lawmakers’ main concerns are that digital assets could pose a “systemic threat to America’s financial network” and could undermine dollar supremacy. In addition, according to Sherman, “criminals” could use Bitcoin and other altcoins in their criminal operations, going unnoticed by the responsible authorities.
A Few Tips to Stop Robocalls and Avoid Phone Scams
The Federal Communications Commission has listed a few tips, which are included below:
- Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
- Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
- Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
By Audy Castaneda
