Introduction
The meme coin craze and inordinate desire to get-rich-quick is putting many unfortunate crypto users into overdrive. In that one move hoped to make huge returns, entire livelihoods are lost to scammers. The trick of using the names and identities of popular figures to host fraudulent projects in crypto is not entirely new. Binance Co-founder Ye Hi is the next top profile personality whose name and image has been used to do a successful phishing attack. The tune of loss? 60 ETH.
He recently addressed her huge followers on X and alerted them to a fake meme coin presale account which had her name and image. Unfortunately, some users that never conducted a proper background check have already fallen victim to the scam and a significant amount has been lost. Here is what He Yi said about the attack:
I noticed that a fake account has impersonated me and some users have been scammed. It’s been reported to me that someone has clicked into a malicious link and 60 ETH was stolen. heyibinance is my only account. And $BNB is the only token that I endorse. Please stay alert to such fake accounts. And if you spot any of these fake accounts, please report it to X to help prevent others from being scammed. source
Fake X account and phishing link - how it happened
The hacker used a popular and easy bait. They created duplicate fake accounts on X using the details of He and Binance colors to deceive the public into thinking that this was genuine. Then the attacker promoted a brand new meme coin presale which was presented as though it was He Yi. Then they started promoting the presale.
After getting the attention of a few users, the attacker then shared a phishing link which users where encouraged to click to participate in the mem coin presale. The rest is history for anyone and all those that have clicked the link. He reported that up to 60 ETH has been lost to the scammer and warns the public never to get involved.
Social media (especially X) is a tool for scamming exploits
The crypto community rely heavily on various social media platform to learn about new projects in the crypto space. X has been a platform that has been heavily used for creating awareness for new projects, building a community for it and user engagement. Scammers have entered the space too often looking for ways to deceive inexperienced users or anyone to fall victim to their baits. They use a number of ways to appear real and unfortunately, they often steal fortunes.
One of the popular ways they have done this in recent times is to hack into the official X account of a popular figure or big organization an start sending misleading information about a crypto project. Since meme coin airdrops are popular right now, they often take advantage of the craze to launch fake presales where people are promised airdrops if they participate. This is where the dangers lies. A popular figure launching a new meme coin? nobody wants to miss the opportunity.
Many crypto platforms, large organizations and popular figures have had their X accounts broken into and fake airdrops announced. Some users have failed to dig deep and conduct background safety checks to ascertain the authenticity of such projects. They have paid a huge price for that - 60 ETH in this particular case above. Sometimes, hackers may not succeeded to break into an account owned by a popular figure, they then employ another method - impersonation.
Just as exemplified in He Yi case above, the scammers try to impersonate an important person in crypto or elsewhere. They create fake accounts and use them to promote fraudulent projects. Its usually a fake presale or airdrop where users are either asked to click a phishing link, or required to send some SOL or other tokens to a phishing wallet. Once users click a link, it could lead to stealing of tokens in their wallet. Or if they were tricked to send tokens to a wrong address, it usually results in losses either way.
Check out this warning below from Blockaid, a crypto anti-fraud mechanism helping users stay safe from crypto scams
Are you excited about zksync's $ZK airdrop? So are the scammers!
Blockaid has observed a massive uptick in malicious dApps impersonating the ZkSync eligibility checker, with a 5X increase on the day the checker was released. source
There is no end to the number of scamming and malicious attacks out there in the crypto space. As users are busy trying to make fortunes from crypto projects, scammers are busy trying to steal from them. But its possible to stay safe.
Scammers could be outsmarted
Staying safe and ensuring that your hard-earned digital wealth is protected is not that hard. Just a few precautionary measures and a little more carefulness is all that is required. In the face of mounting cases of crypto scam, here are 3 tips to put you above and beyond the reach of scammers.
- Get informational from official sources: So you first have to ensure that your source of information is genuine. Only trust data from official handles. Check the X account of the project to be sure its not a fake one. Most projects use premium accounts and you can check the ticker beside it to verify.
If an account looks suspicious, why not check out other official handles in other social media pages to be sure. Its always dangerous to interact with airdrop accounts that are not premium on X. Again be sure that he account is not new.
Do not click any links: Phishing links are everywhere. On social media posts, comments, mail inboxes, etc. Scammers spread their nets well. So before you click on any link, be sure that it is not a phishing link. Do not click links from unknown accounts. Do not click a link if it is not from an official account. And for any links you visit, confirm that the URL is the exact one you had in mind.
Invest what you can afford loose: This applies to presales and airdrops. They often expect users to send tokens in order to purchase the new token. Always send small amounts - something that will not shake you if it was lost. Do not send your retirement savings. Its not good to borrow money to participate in presales. And its equally advisable not sale property to invest in a presale. If these things are lost, its really dfficult to recover from the experience.
DYOR: Do not leap before checking where you will land. Always spend time and investigate new projects. Its worth the effort. You save yourself from heartache.
Finally
Do everything you could to stay safe. The crypto space is like an ocean filled with dangerous sharks. You could be swallowed in an instant if you are not smart.
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