Budol Alert: The Experiences of Filipino Individuals Scammed in Cryptocurrency During the

Pandemic

I. Research Design

We've witnessed a rise in the use of complex forms and stationery to send what looks to be
real World Bank Group mail, as well as a number of scams involving the Bank. Scammers have
also been known to pose as Bank auditors or members of the Bank's West African Regional
Delegation. Recently, faxed letters were sent to creditors of West African nations, stating that the
senders had been authorized by the governments to refund past obligations. The letterhead was
printed on official-looking Bank letterhead.

In most cases, the solicitations required potential victims to supply personal information such
as signatures or bank account information, as well as pay advance fees, which were commonly
referred to as "processing costs." In exchange, the potential victim was offered large quantities of
money that the "fees" seeker had no intention of paying. In order to boost their legitimacy,
individuals requesting the funds used the names of actual Bank employees to sign the letters.

II. Participants of the study

Crypto currency is stored in a digital wallet, which can be online, on your computer, or on an
external hard drive. But if something unexpected happens — your online exchange platform goes
out of business, you send crypto currency to the wrong person, you lose the password to your
digital wallet, or your digital wallet is stolen or compromised — you’re likely to find that no one
can step in to help you recover your funds. And, because you typically transfer crypto currency
directly without an intermediary like a bank, there is often no one to turn to if you encounter a
problem.

III. Research Instruments

People talk about crypto currency transactions as anonymous. But the truth is not that simple.
Some crypto currencies record some transaction details on a public ledger, called a “block
chain.” That’s a public list of every crypto currency transaction — both the payment and receipt
sides. Depending on the crypto currency, the information added to the block chain can include
details like the transaction amount and the sender’s and recipient’s wallet addresses. A wallet
address is a long string of numbers and letters linked to your digital wallet. Even though you can
use a fake name to register your digital wallet, it’s possible to use transaction and wallet
information to identify the people involved in a specific transaction. And when you buy
something from a seller who collects other information about you, like a shipping address, that
information can be used to identify you later on.
 IV. Data gathering procedure

Some companies promise that you can earn lots of money in a short time and achieve
financial freedom. Some scammers tell you to pay in crypto currency for the right to recruit
others into a program. If you do, they say, you’ll get recruitment rewards paid in crypto currency.
The more cryptocurrency you pay, the more money they promise you’ll make. But these are all
fake promises, and false guarantees.

Some scammers start with unsolicited offers from supposed “investment managers.” These
scammers say they can help you grow your money if you give them the cryptocurrency you’ve
bought. But once you log in to the “investment account” they opened, you’ll find that you can’t
withdraw your money unless you pay fees.

Some scammers send unsolicited job offers to help recruit crypto currency investors, sell
crypto currency, mine crypto currency, or help with converting cash to bit coin. Some scammers
list scam jobs on job websites. They’ll promise you a job (for a fee), but end up taking your
money or personal information.

V. Ethical Considerations

Scammers will often send emails that say they have embarrassing or compromising photos,
videos, or personal information about you. Then, they threaten to make it public unless you pay
them in crypto currency. Don’t do it. This is blackmail and a criminal extortion attempt. Report it
to the FBI immediately.

Scammers are always finding new ways to steal your money using crypto currency. One
sure sign of a scam is anyone who says you have to pay by crypto currency. In fact, anyone who
tells you to pay by wire transfer, gift card, or crypto currency is a scammer. Of course, if you
pay, there’s almost no way to get that money back. Which is what the scammers are counting on.
Here are some crypto currency scams to watch out for.

VI. Data Analysis

The sudden shift in focus of fraudsters is apparent in financial services. Global financial
services online fraud attempt rates had risen 149% when comparing the first four months of 2021
and the last four months of 2020. But when comparing Q2 2021 and Q2 2020, the rate of
suspected online financial services fraud attempts has still risen, but at a much lower rate of
18.8% globally.

“Among all the markets that our research covered, the Philippines recorded the second
biggest decline in the rate of suspected digital fraud originating from that country, next only to
Brazil. It is possible fraudsters have recognized the fraud controls our customers have after
experiencing them first-hand and have gone elsewhere for the time being. However, constant
vigilance is still warranted as we’ll likely see them again in industries where transactions are
increasing,” said Pia Arellano, president and CEO at Transunion Philippines.