The mere mention of the word, cryptocurrency , is usually greeted with a slight tinge of mistrust , with the slew of recent headlines having done nothing to rehabilitate crypto’s bad reputation. Instead, they have helped to cement the product’s notoriety as a criminal’s currency of choice or the tool of the illicit financier. The general zeitgeist has shifted from viewing cryptocurrency as a once revolutionary technology to rival traditional fiat transactions, doing away with the need for banks and other financial intermediaries in the wake of the 2008 crash. Instead, crypto is the latest playground for the fraudster. It is understandable why this view has gained traction, as cryptocurrency security firm CipherTrace has reported that $1.2 billion has been stolen through various cryptocurrency-based frauds in just the first quarter of 2019. Read more

This article first appeared in Fraud Intelligence (www.counter-fraud.com)