Ethereum-based start-up indulges in mini-scam. Even though the price of Ethereum would not actually change due to this mini scam but recently, an Ethereum-based start-up by the name of Prodeum scammed investors of $ 11. It raised $ 11 with the help of crowd sell and thereafter, the website was taken down and the company disappeared as well. There was no way to contact the company ever since. Even though this is actually a joke or seems like a joke but the truth is that the cases of fraud in the cryptocurrency space are increasing day by day. More and more investors are actually facing fraud which is a deterrent for the newer investors to invest in the cryptocurrencies space.
The world of initial coin offerings can be a minefield, especially to the uninitiated. Unmoderated and unedited social media platforms autonomously disseminate terabytes of digital detritus on a daily basis. The majority of which is nothing more than pollution of the internet. ICO scams can wind up in these feeds and one called Prodeum did just that.
Prodeum wanted millions, but the scammers ended up raising just $11.
- Three blockchain experts linked to an illegitimate startup called Prodeum told Business Insider they have nothing to do with the organization and are victims of identity theft.
- The startup, Prodeum, raised $11 in an online fundraiser before disappearing on Sunday.
- Prodeum’s website went blank late Sunday aside for the text “penis” in the upper-left corner.
This is not the 1st time that a company has raised money and thereafter disappeared. The last time around, the amount was pretty high. However, one positive thing which happened in this instance was none of the investors actually seemed to care about the crowdsale. The reason for this is that they were able to detect the pointless product of the company which later turned out to be a fake product. This is one of the main reasons why the company was only able to scam in the amount of $ 11. If indeed, it would have worked on, maybe some of the other investors also would have got caught in the scam.
This brings us to a very important question regarding how fraud can be prevented in the Council market as well as the ICO market. The company website featured images of people hired from Fiverr to write the name of the company on their body and to market the crowdsale. However, it did not work out as well as most of the investors were not interested in investing in the startup. Even though the amount is on the lower side but it is high time that investors start to research about the different ICO’s and crowdsales before investing in them.
It remains to be seen whether there are any other companies which are actually disappearing after raising money in the ICO’s. Currently, however, as most of the companies provide the details of their owners and also issue a white paper as well in order to explain what the product actually is. This is how most of the investors are able to know whether the company is genuine or not and whether the ICO is worth investing or not.
Adam Webb is editor in Smartereum, blockchain and currency news, where he produces updates on Blockchain, Ethereum and other alternative cryptocurrencies.
