Beware of fake work-from-home scams. It’s a scheme to steal cryptocurrency.

Beware of employers who ask you to send them cryptocurrency to start your dream job while working from home. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says this is likely another scam.

The FBI warned in a statement on June 4 that work-from-home advertising scams will increase. Scammers contact potential victims with unsolicited calls or messages, offering them relatively simple tasks, such as rating a restaurant or “optimizing” their service by repeatedly clicking a button.

Victims may believe they are making money. Scammers direct victims to a fake interface to show them that they are making money (of course, the money cannot be cashed out).

When the victim is told to make a cryptocurrency payment to the fake employer to “unlock” more work, the scammer is shocked—except the payment is sent directly to the scammer.

“As part of your job, you were instructed to make cryptocurrency payments to your employer,” the FBI said.

Red flags that may signal fraud include job descriptions that excessively use the word “optimized” and job descriptions that do not require reference during the hiring process.

As the work-from-home lifestyle grows in popularity, it’s no surprise that more victims are falling into the trap. By the end of 2023, the number of remote workers globally will increase to 28%, according to Statista data.

Additionally, remote workers have the freedom to choose their own base.

In a recent interview with Cointelegraph Magazine, Canggu-based cryptocurrency consultant Dominic Frei said he brought his wife and two young children from Switzerland to Bali in pursuit of a more desirable lifestyle and climate.

Related: FBI warning against cryptocurrency transfer companies ‘appears’ to be aimed at mixers

This comes just months after the FBI released surprising statistics on the number of cryptocurrency-related scams in the United States in 2023.

On March 9, Cointelegraph cited an FBI report showing that investment losses related to cryptocurrencies increased from $2.57 billion in 2022 to approximately $3.94 billion in 2023, a 53% increase.

One of the most common cryptocurrency scams that people fall victim to is romance scams.

This is when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain the victim’s affection and trust, then creates a story to convince the victim to send them cryptocurrency, then disappears.

magazine: Become a Balinese cryptocurrency digital nomad like me: here’s how.