Despite numerous warnings and reminders about the importance of DYOR (do your own research) and due diligence to avoid exploitation, a recent study by ChainPlay and Storible revealed that 83% of crypto investors have fallen victim to scams or hacks.
Key Findings
- 83% of crypto investors have experienced scams or hacks.
- Average loss per victim: $2,622.
- Crypto exchange users have lost over $27 billion due to hacks.
- 64% of hacks targeted decentralized exchanges (DEXs), but centralized exchanges (CEXs) suffered 27 times higher losses.
Most Common Scams
The study identified the top fraud methods affecting crypto investors:
- Social media impersonation – 34.02%
- A type of online fraud in which scammers create fake accounts mimicking legitimate individuals, companies or organizations to deceive users.
- In the crypto space, these impersonators often pose as crypto projects, influencers or exchange representatives to trick investors into sending funds or revealing sensitive information.
- Exchange/platform hacks – 21.30%
- Phishing attacks – 18.64%
- Scams in which hackers trick people into sharing sensitive information like passwords, credit card details or crypto keys by pretending to be trustworthy sources.
- In crypto, attackers often pose as exchanges or wallet services to steal money or personal data.
Surge in Fake Accounts and Phishing Websites
The study also highlighted that scammers are increasingly using fake accounts and phishing websites to target investors.
The study examined 300 top crypto projects and found:
- Each project is targeted by an average of eight phishing websites.
- Each project faces seven fake Twitter accounts attempting to deceive investors.
Exchange Hacks Investigation
The analysis of exchange hacks revealed a significant difference between decentralized exchanges and centralized exchanges.
While DEXs experience more hack attempts (64%), CEXs suffer much higher financial losses—27 times greater. Total losses from exchange hacks have reached nearly $29 billion, with CEX users losing over $26.4 billion, DEX users losing over $800 million and exchanges themselves losing over $1.6 billion.
ChainPlay stressed that the data shows that although CEXs face fewer attacks, the financial impact of these breaches is far greater. On the other hand, DEXs experience frequent breaches, which undermines user trust and hinders broader adoption of decentralized platforms.
Recently, the Bybit hack resulted in the theft of $1.45 billion in cryptocurrency, making it one of the largest crypto heists. Linked to the Lazarus Group, the attack exposed vulnerabilities in Bybit’s systems and highlighted the ongoing threats facing the crypto industry.
Study Methodology
The study by ChainPlay and Storible used the following methodology to assess the prevalence and impact of crypto scams and hacks:
- Survey of Crypto Investors
- Sample Size: 2,101 crypto investors
- Survey Platform: Prolific
- Key Questions: Participants were asked about their experiences with scams and hacks, including how many times they were affected and the average amount lost.
- Analysis of Crypto Projects
- Number of Projects Analyzed: 444
- Criteria: Projects were selected to assess common fraud patterns and security risks.
- Social Media and Phishing Research
- Targeted Crypto Projects: 300 top projects by market cap (based on CoinGecko data)
- Verification Process:
- Collected official websites and Twitter profiles of each project.
- Generated 200 potential phishing websites and 200 fake Twitter accounts per project.
- Verified how many of these fraudulent sites/accounts were active.
- Exchange Hacks Investigation
- Data Source: REKT database
- Analysis Focus:
- Determined whether hacks impacted exchanges directly or their users.
- Assessed financial losses for centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Other recent studies in collaboration with Storible:
Further Reading
BitPinas have several resources to help crypto investors protect their digital assets, check there here:
This article is published on BitPinas: 83% of Crypto Investors Have Been Scammed or Hacked, Study Reveals
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