YouTube Crypto 'Front Running' Scam: Don't Fall for It

On YouTube, a new trend known as "front running" is gaining popularity. It claims you can earn up to $1,400 per day in passive income with cryptocurrency, but it's also a great way to get scammed. According to a report from blockchain security company Certik, 84% of 232 YouTube videos with the phrase "front running" in the title were scams. Bad actors hijack victims' cryptocurrency transactions by paying higher gas fees to move ahead of them in the queue. When the front runner purchases the cryptocurrency before the victim, the cost of the cryptocurrency rises (because there is less of it). The front runner then quickly sells the newly purchased cryptocurrency at a higher price, as the victim's slower transaction is completed. Because the price increased in the final moments, the victim is left with little cryptocurrency than they expected.

How does a cryptocurrency front-running scam operate?

Victims are drawn in by the promise of easy earnings, which is explained in convincing YouTube videos by "crypto gurus" who show them how to run front-running code on their computers. [caption id="attachment_69989" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] YouTube[/caption] However, rather than assisting a mark in earning passive income, the code serves as a front for malware. Once you've copied it to your computer, you're vulnerable to being watched by the scammer, who will instruct you on how to allocate the funds to be "traded" on your behalf. But all you'll be doing is offering the scammers your cryptocurrency.

How to Avoid Cryptocurrency Scams

Never run any code unless you completely trust the person providing it to you. It also goes without saying that if something appears too good to be true—for example, earning more than $1,000 per day in passive income by simply copying and pasting a few lines of code—it probably is. Any claim that a specific trading strategy or skill will assure high returns with little effort should raise your eyebrows.