If you are part of the crypto community on Twitter or just post tweets that are somehow related to cryptocurrency, then you probably received suspicious messages or emails. And after that, you might have a question: "How does this work and why is someone being led to it?". Well, sit back, in this article we will tell you in detail about the most popular techniques of crypto scammers on Twitter and explain how they work
The most popular tactics of crypto scammers on Twitter
On Twitter, attackers most often deploy small-scale fraudulent campaigns aimed at one or two people. The most common tactics used to deceive victims are:
Of course, crypto scammers on Twitter do not stand still and constantly improve their schemes and tactics, but it is the three above that users encounter most often.
How do fraud schemes work and why do victims rely on them?
Everything is simple – attackers put pressure on the greed of people who want to get money literally out of thin air. It looks something like this:
How do I recognize a scammer on Twitter?
This is not difficult, it is important to remember a few simple things:
Let's sum up the results
As you understand, it is not so difficult to identify a crypto fraudster on Twitter, since they give themselves away by offering victims insane amounts in cryptocurrency for participating in non-existent contests. Keep in mind that free cheese happens only in a mousetrap and no one will just offer you huge money in cryptocurrency for nothing.
The most popular tactics of crypto scammers on Twitter
On Twitter, attackers most often deploy small-scale fraudulent campaigns aimed at one or two people. The most common tactics used to deceive victims are:
- Masquerading as well-known people in the crypto community, leaders of various projects, project developers, and so on;
- Various kinds of bait like: "You have a chance to get millions of tokens that you have never heard of! But to collect your winnings, follow the link and pay a small commission so that we can transfer your prize to you!”;
- Classics of the genre: phishing links, fake websites, and cryptocurrency giveaways.
Of course, crypto scammers on Twitter do not stand still and constantly improve their schemes and tactics, but it is the three above that users encounter most often.
How do fraud schemes work and why do victims rely on them?
Everything is simple – attackers put pressure on the greed of people who want to get money literally out of thin air. It looks something like this:
- The victim receives a private message on Twitter. In it, the fraudster says that the user has won a certain amount in cryptocurrency, to get which you need to click on the link to the crypto exchange and activate the promo code. To attract the attention of the victim and lull her vigilance, attackers offer " prizes” in Bitcoin and Ethereum, trying not to use unknown tokens.;
- The victim obediently follows the link and activates the code, after which the amount of the “prize”is credited to her account on the exchange.
- The user tries to withdraw cryptocurrency to his wallet, so as not to keep it on the exchange. This is where the fun begins. First, scammers ask you to confirm your email address – this is how they again try to lull the victim's attention, make her believe that the site is real. And as a bonus, they get the user's email address in order to try again in the future to deceive the gullible lover of free cryptocurrency. After the victim enters the address of their Bitcoin wallet, the withdrawal status of the “won” cryptocurrency changes to “Pending”. Here you can see the first puncture of fraudsters – usually exchanges process transactions instantly, without requiring confirmation.
- The withdrawal status changes to "Failed", after which the victim is invited to deposit 0.02 BTC or 0.3 ETH for verification on the exchange and confirmation of the withdrawal. If the victim believes in this and sends his cryptocurrency, the withdrawal status does not change in any way, and the attackers celebrate another victory.
- Bonus step. Sometimes scammers try not only to rob the victim, but also to collect her personal data, justifying this by additional verification on the exchange. Usually, the victim is required to upload a photo of their driver's license, passport, social security number, or other identification document.
How do I recognize a scammer on Twitter?
This is not difficult, it is important to remember a few simple things:
- The sentence is too good to be true. If someone suddenly offers you a huge amount of cryptocurrency, then you should think twice before clicking on the links in the message.;
- They write to you about winning a contest that you haven't even heard of. In this case, how did you manage to win the prize mentioned in the message?
- The site of the crypto exchange indicated in the message appeared recently or is extremely unpopular. Remember, little-known crypto exchanges are among the most unreliable and frequently used by hackers;
- The Twitter account you received the message from is completely new. Everything is clear here – if a stranger with three subscribers and an account created yesterday offers you a lot of cryptocurrency, then you definitely should not trust him;
- Someone is trying to impersonate a well-known person in the crypto community, an employee of Twitter or a crypto exchange.
Let's sum up the results
As you understand, it is not so difficult to identify a crypto fraudster on Twitter, since they give themselves away by offering victims insane amounts in cryptocurrency for participating in non-existent contests. Keep in mind that free cheese happens only in a mousetrap and no one will just offer you huge money in cryptocurrency for nothing.
