The followers of virtual currencies have a growing community on Crypto Twitter. Blockchain ventures, CEOs, founders, lead developers, and retail investors all contribute to it by publishing their thoughts on the cryptocurrency market.
As a result, it has swiftly emerged as the top forum for business news, professional advice, and the newest cryptocurrency deals.
However, in recent months, Crypto Twitter has also developed into a hangout for con artists and shady characters attempting to con unwary investors out of their hard-earned cryptocurrency holdings. Numerous methods are used by these criminals to get access to user wallets or coerce victims into sending them tokens.
Here are some of the most prevalent cryptocurrency and Non-fungible tokens frauds on Twitter.
- The Honeypot Scam
One of the most frequent financial scams, spanning both conventional finance and the cryptocurrency sector, is the honeypot scheme. Currently, they have also found their way to Twitter. After tricking users into putting cryptocurrency to a wallet, malicious actors steal the money.
For example, they might provide generous rewards for help with straightforward operations like moving funds from one wallet to another. Scammers may assume the persona of a crypto novice who has unexplainably won a stockpile of digital assets but has no idea how to convert them into fiat money.
The scammer's claims have more validity because the wallet genuinely holds the enigmatic wins, but there won't be enough accepted tokens to pay the transaction fees.
When you transfer over the funds to cover transaction fees, a bot will automatically send your tokens to a wallet controlled by the scammer.
- Fake posts and hacked accounts that create FUD
The purchase and usage of bots to generate fake likes and retweets has become incredibly simple.
This can be exploited by malicious actors to create a sense of urgency among visitors and lead them to a phishing website. They can even disable tweet comments, preventing leakers from revealing the scam.
Once a user reaches the fake landing page, they can be prompted to enter their wallet information to carry out specific tasks, including revoking rights to protect themselves from a fictitious assault.
The scammer can now drain accounts using these details, which have been documented.
- Fake airdrops, lookalike links and landing pages
Scammers have started exploiting Unicode letters to create links that seem like real airdrops.
The links take users to fake websites that look a lot like real registration pages. By entering their login credentials, users unwittingly give scammers access to all of their personal information, which is then used to deplete their accounts.
Symbols and signs known as Unicode letters can resemble conventional letters. For instance, this inverted exclamation mark '¡' can be used an 'i' in a link.
Similarly, the symbol for the Greek letter alpha 'α' maybe used as 'a'. These may look like links to legitimate pages and are followed up with near duplicates of genuine websites, making it easy to trick users.
- Fake crypto recovery services
After being hacked or scammed, users frequently use Twitter to express their disappointment. Bad actors find these tweets using keywords, then offer assistance using fictitious accounts. These fictitious accounts direct consumers to purported blockchain specialists who promise to reclaim the money. Of course, there is a charge for this service.
Desperate to recover their funds, people pay for the fee. Once they receive the money, the scammers stop responding. This is a rather callous strategy that gives false optimism and exploits people who have already had their holdings taken by illegal activity.
- Fake games and art commissions
This exploit asks users to download a specific file on their computers. Although it appears to be a typical file at first glance, it actually contains malware or a script that can search your system for private keys and passwords.
In the instance of false gaming exploits, malicious parties will send customers a P2E platform prototype. They would be requested to sample the game and given the incentive to write a positive review.
The user launches the software after extracting the file, which also contains the infection. Similar to this, criminals may approach artists and ask them to produce digital art for a fictitious business.
They might send you some reading material, but it could also be infected with spyware or harmful software.
In both scenarios, as soon as the files are downloaded and opened, they start gathering and transmitting private data that criminals can use to siphon off digital assets.
These exploits can be challenging to identify.
But for any of them to work, human error is necessary. These hacks and attacks cannot succeed without particular steps from your end. Therefore, if you do enough study and use due care, you may easily escape these scams.