Cryptocurrency-related scams are increasing yearly due to the worldwide adoption of crypto technology. The more people learn and use cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, the more sophisticated crypto scams we will see.
When you send or receive any Bitcoin (BTC) funds from anyone, you must do your due diligence checks by searching blacklisted databases to determine if the addresses are safe and legit.
If you have already sent crypto funds and felt suspicious about the transaction, you can also use the methods in this article to check for yourself.
The common cryptocurrency-related scams you should be aware of are;
- Crypto Theft (stolen bitcoin from crypto wallets, exchanges and services)
- Giveaway (promise of free money/crypto, winning lucky draws/lottery)
- Ransomware. (use of malware to encrypt victim’s digital files and, in return, extort crypto for decryption)
- Ponzi Scheme. (promise of high profits and made to keep hiring new members to keep the scheme alive)
- Sextortion (sexual extortion, mostly through video or images sharing)
- and many others
This article will show you the three (3) cryptocurrency databases that you can use to search for free and get information about the wallet address to that you are about to send funds.
How to Check for Bitcoin Blacklisted / Scammed Addresses
Here are the three (3) ways to do so.
1) Scam Alert
Scam Alert‘s mission wants to make the Bitcoin blockchain a much safer place to use for everyone by exposing scammers and other criminals who abuse it.
They do this by allowing the public to report cryptocurrency-related scams, thefts, extortion, and fraudulent websites that result in a loss or potential loss of crypto funds. In addition, their search features allow for the input of wallet addresses and website URLs. This is useful when you find a particular website fishy and suspicious.
The online service collaborates with law enforcement agencies and consumer protection initiatives to constantly improve detection, tracking and combating crypto crime. Scam Alert has advanced tools to share and analyse information in real-time. In addition, it includes API for scam submission and payment address or website verification.
2) Bitcoin Abuse
Bitcoin Abuse is a public database made up of reports filed by the public and the victims of bitcoin addresses used by scammers, hackers, and criminals. It is by far the most extensive public database of fraudulent bitcoin addresses. Every month, there will be at least a few thousand reports made.
You can quickly look up a Bitcoin address, and it will search through their blacklisted database for possible hits. You can also file a report with them that adds to the database, and lastly, you can monitor the movement of bitcoin addresses you set it to. This can be useful if your Bitcoins are stolen, and you want to know their movement.
3) BitcoinWhosWho
Like the ones above, BitcoinWhoswho aims to verify a bitcoin address owner and help others avoid a bitcoin scam or fraud by offering an address checker. They have an active Twitter account; you can take a look. On top of the search, you can report a scam or stolen Bitcoin via their website and get included in the address checker database.
The reality is there is no single public database that contains all the reported and malicious Bitcoin wallet addresses. This is why you should search your target wallet address using various checker tools. Using all three (3) Bitcoin address checkers stated in this article, you will cover the most reported fraudulent addresses on the Internet.
