Beware of a New Amazon Token Crypto Scam
blog.avast.com
blog.avast.com
Maybe the flow for buying ETH is really simple, and these sellers aren't clear that every transaction is irrevocable? So people think they can reverse the transaction later, and are left holding the bag when they get scammed? Or, maybe these scams have such wide appeal that they rope in enough victims that a 99.9% bounce rate on the payment page is still worthwhile?
Most of the people (or people with bots) making any sort of money with these new coins are getting in on the ICO and dumping their coins during the initial peak after public release. The whole thing is like a high frequency pump and dump, and there are large profits to be had for the few who can pull it off, which makes buyers particularly rushed.
The Binance Smart Chain has even more of this going on, it's madness. It's like the wild west of defi.
Luckily I hadn't taught them anything about eth except how to buy it and how to self-custody it yet.
After seeing how easily they were scammed into believing this was real, I am recommending they steer clear of eth entirely and just stick to learning about bitcoin. Too many (believable) scams on smart contract chains.
The only btc scams I've seen are along the lines of "Send me your btc and I'll double it back for you!" which is obvious even for them.
Although even that isn't so clear cut - you have to educate/warn about Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, and so on.
I'm in BG.
BTW, you have my jealousy on the bike. Congrats :)
There is no way to quantify how much this has happened using crypto assets.
For instance, buying metal bullion from a major online vendor such as APMEX, you can avoid credit card fees or long wait for a check/ACH/wire(faster than previous two but still takes hours) to clear by paying in crypto. It's basically <30min clearing for any arbitrary large amount. The closest you can get to that without crypto through most major bullion vendors is a wire, which depending on your bank is anywhere from free (rare) to $25+. Sometimes the crypto fees are waived, other times they're merely much closer to check price than credit price.
It adds an additional 1-2 days at least to shipping. Do you enjoy having your money gone additional time without any underlying asset in hand, adding to your counterparty risk? This is one of the reasons why Amazon delivery logistics has succeeded, consumers LIKE to have their goods faster. You don't think it's valid that some people use crypto to get their goods a day or two sooner for in many cases essentially the same price (or if they already had crypto, cheaper because they didn't have to convert back to fiat themselves).
>Bitcoin is also very volatile, so you can end up losing out on the spread, but not notice it.
The price in BTC(or LTC, BCH, etc) is locked for 15 minutes when you check out. If BTC or whatever you're using gains value you could merely choose not to execute the trade; when I missed the window there was no penalty it just cancelled the invoice. There's no way you can possibly have an unexpected loss. If you have fiat on an exchange and you needed crypto, you can choose to buy it right then in that 15 minute window to make sure your price is locked in.
I wonder if there's an arbitrage opportunity, here.
Sometimes I want to spend money on things that I think are morally right, but the credit card companies/paypal won't let me buy.
You can search for lists. I'm doing things that aren't even on most lists (things like buying medication - not drugs - at a discount). A good consumer will never be in that situation, they'll stick to the paths well traveled and stick to whatever laws they happen to think exist and apply to them (often without actually checking those laws or applying civil disobedience to laws they don't agree with).
An independent mind will sooner or later get into situations of wanting to do things that the established corporations don't want you to do and then you'll find out how little you can actually do with your corporate approved currency.
I've reported these multiple times in the past month, and they keep popping up from different profiles.
Gosh. I'm doubly-lucky: I don't trust the Amazon brand further than the end of my nose, and I haven't the slightest interest in ICOs. I don't trust Avast either, but I can't remember why.
Something about the cure being worse than the disease