🌱 Glossary of Fraud

Ponzi - funds from later investors are used to pay early investors, creating the illusion the fund is generating authentic returns

Pump-and-Dump - coordinated buying of an asset to spike the price, creating the illusion of a “hot ticket*, followed by a sell-off once un-affiliated (typically retail) customers begin buying

Insider Trading - Insiders using non-public information to buy or sell an asset prior to that information going public

Gold Brick - disguising a low-value asset, like a lump of lead, as a much more valuable asset, like a brick of gold Wash Trading - inflating an asset by selling it to yourself or a co-conspirator, often repeatedly, for above market value

Phishing - a social engineering attack where the attacker poses as a trusted authority (bank, exchange, government institution) in an attempt at getting the target to reveal sensitive information, like passwords

Link Swap - initiating a legitimate transaction, then swapping the legitimate link with a compromised one once the mark has agreed to the exchange