Choosing a car is simple – you go to a dealer, take it for a spin, and buy it if you’re satisfied. You don’t run the risk of the dealer just stealing your cash and being left stranded on the street. With cryptocurrencies being far removed from the physical realm, this possibility is quite present, with the number of financial fraudsters only increasing with time.
Today, we take a look at one cryptocurrency exchange that has come under a lot of flak in recent months. More accurately, we take a look at the software they are using and how it may be abused to forward con artists’ own insidious goals. Let’s talk about the Gemini app scam and find out how to avoid it.
What is Gemini?
Gemini is a global crypto exchange platform and a custodian bank, established in the US in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The Gemini exchange is also known under the name of Gemini Trust Company. The ownership duo is known as the Harvard twins and classmates of Mark Zuckerberg.
The gemini.com website represents a crypto portal that allows digital assets trading and custodial service. The trading platform is a proprietary product that is available both in the form of a web terminal and a mobile app. There’s also the Gemini auto trading app, known as ActiveTrader, that is promised to facilitate the trading process.
As an addition, the mobile app also has an option for the Gemini wallet, which allows its users to buy other products by using their digital cash stored there.
According to CoinMarketCap, the site is currently ranked 16th, by the amount of daily turnover of around $95 million. It offers about 80 currencies with 21 crypto-to-crypto pairs available for trading.
Legal Issues of Gemini Trust Co
Just like a handful of other famous crypto providers, this digital trading portal has also seen its ups and downs. One of the biggest legal troubles the company has gone through happened at the beginning of 2023 when the SEC charged Genesis and Gemini for illicitly providing virtual asset services via their ongoing Gemini Earn Lending Program.
Hundreds of thousands of investors participated with their crypto holdings, worth billions of dollars. The beginning date of the program was actually 2021, when it was first offered to retail investors. The whole thing came crashing down in November 2022, when the platform owners disabled withdrawals for a while and then ended the program in January 2023.
All of these mishaps caused the New York Attorney General to file a lawsuit against the firm for lying to its customers, causing a loss of over $1 billion.
Types of Crypto Scams
The global digital assets market is an ever-growing interest of millions of investors. Fraudsters have also started invading this financial ecosystem, seeing it as an opportunity for quick money. Scam methods may vary, but all of them use some sort of bait that makes their deal irresistible for the victims.
Targets are often dragged into risky investments, convinced that their profit will be quick with little to no effort needed. Unfortunately, that is not how crypto trading works. Whatever proposition you may receive, if it’s overly demanding, too good to be true, and asks for payments up front, you can be sure you’re being targeted for scams!
Therefore, it’s crucial to understand and be able to recognize several types of most common crypto scams before you fall victim to any.
ACH Transfer Scam
The Automated Clearing House (ACH) is a procedure that allows you to send cash from one bank account to another. When funds get stolen through such a process, it is called the ACH transfer scam.
Since the majority of US employees receive their payment this way, it’s natural that they are the most targeted group. This trickery could occur on a number of occasions, either when fraudsters transfer the money or make unapproved payments.
All the data that criminals need in order to perform an unauthorized transfer is the bank account number and the bank routing number. This is becoming an alarming swindling strategy, as 37% of all fraudulent activity in the US is focused on this type of scam.
Crypto Giveaway Scam
The fake giveaway scheme starts on social media, where fledgling fraudulent platforms post various doctored videos of celebrities. These are usually edited segments of actual footage, or DeepFake AI videos promote what seems to be free money.
Schemers will always ask victims to share identity information, DeFi wallet addresses, and keys. Thus, this acts as both a phishing and cyber theft operation. Many times, it is also paired with a fake investment hoax, where charlatans ask for a deposit prior to allegedly releasing money.
Withdrawal Scam
In order to extort money more efficiently, fraudsters often demand withdrawal fees that have to be paid upfront. Victims then send money, convinced that they will get to cash in their profits, but nothing happens, and the payments get stolen.
The same often happens when scam agents use unsolicited phone calls to target unsuspecting victims and convince them that they’ve won the lottery or some similar prize. In order to be able to pick up their winning sum, the victims are asked to first pay the tax or whatever fee is used as a pretext.
Gemini App Reviews
There’s a certain disparity between what the customers say about the Gemini software and the exchange behind it. Looking at the Gemini trading app review first, we can see that it is available through GooglePlay, where the app has a score of 4.2 out of some 48,000 reviews, and AppStore with a rating of 4.8 out of 97,000 separate ratings.
The Gemini Reddit board, however, is getting riddled with user complaints. Multiple Redditors have opened their own discussions in an attempt to get any help with their blocked withdrawals.
Additionally, the Gemini TrustPilot page says that the firm is rated 1.2 stars, with many users saying that they were outright scammed. The situation is similar on SiteJabber, with 0% positive ratings in the last 12 months.
While we’re at it, we need to point out the existence of purpose-made scam programs as well. One such is the Gemini 2 trading software, also available on GooglePlay. It is a bootleg app that piggybacks on the popularity of the original to run a separate Gemini 2 trading scam.
What Can I Do If I Fall Victim to a Crypto Fraud?
Since prevention is the best cure, we advise our audience to always be cautious when approaching any attractive online offers. Be it an investment opportunity, an outstanding trading platform, or whatever else, always keep your private data private and do your best to ensure you’re only investing with a properly regulated portal.
If it happens that you fall victim to a malevolent financial deal that involves crypto investments, you have to seek help immediately. While it may be difficult for retail traders to trace the flow of their crypto transactions and determine where their funds went, we have experts who conduct such actions on a daily basis. Thanks to the advanced software and years of expertise, our recovery professionals are knowledgeable, skilled, and efficient and can help you too.
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