Scams have been going on for ages, and with every outgrowing industry, scammers are lured into the industry to scam people. Most of the scams are repetitive and used in every field by the fraudster; they just modify their methods to loot people. We generally skip spotting scams like the crypto giveaway scams, phishing scams and more. The majority of users who are new to the crypto industry fall into this trap and end up losing most of their funds in no time.
Just like every other industry, the crypto industry is also exploited, and people are scammed. Apart from users, the companies are also targeted by the fraudster, and all funds and data are stolen. But these scams are frequently covered in the media and are the main highlight of the industry.
In all scams, giveaway scams are considered next to nothing, and anyone can ignore them. But scammers always stay ahead of us; they have some skills to make a phony site that looks legit, and anyone can fall for it. Being vigilant and generally staying away from them are options to safeguard yourself from these scams. Let’s understand what a giveaway scam is and how it works.
People fall for scams where they are enticed by advertisements that say they can get free bitcoins, NFTs, or other cryptocurrencies, but to avail themselves of the offer, they have to participate in the contest or register.
They run phishing campaigns on social media platforms to entice users into their scam. Fraudsters do use the names of famous companies and personalities to lure more victims. After registration, usually the fraudster tries to steal all the funds from the victim's account, as they have access to their data.
Fraudsters do sell users' data on the dark web, which can lead to the misuse of their personal details. Out of all the giveaways, the most popular one is the bitcoin cash giveaway, as the market cap holds the highest value out of all the cryptocurrencies.
Fraudsters start with their setup; as they want to target users on social media, they use a fabricated social media profile to lure people into the scams. So con artists make their moves quickly, whereas some try to build their profile and make it legit.
Con artists even impersonate some popular public figure or company on social media by using the same photos, videos, and bio. They try their best to engage more people, so later they can make their move by announcing the sham giveaway.
After they are done with their setup, for the next step, they make a fake website by using the name of a reputable company or a fake cryptocurrency website. They kick off their phishing campaign by offering bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies.
But the catch is that they have to give away payment as prescribed, or maybe they will just ask you to register. As the value the user will get in return is considerably high, they don't think much about sending a small payment.
They ask for personal details for enrollment, including a crypto wallet number. By which they can access your account and get all of the funds. Once the victim is done sending the payment and submitting all the information, the fraudster will try to access their account, steal all the funds, and disappear in no time. By the time the victim realizes all that was just a hoax and the funds are gone, the chance of recovery will be minuscule.
Most of the giveaways are scams. There are rarely any giveaways happening, and even if legit giveaways are going on, fraudsters will mislead people and direct them to their phony website. In such situations, many people tend to lose their funds to fraudsters. I’ll list a few steps through which you can spot and avoid crypto giveaway scams.
Most of the accounts use the name of a famous public figure or company, but they will not have a verification mark.
The account will be recently created, so most of the posts will be a few days old. If you want to enroll, they will ask you to do numerous tasks.
There will be some grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or translation mistakes. The comments section will be filled with bots.
Most of the images are stolen or stock images, which are not clear.
In the instructions, they will ask you to comment to get enrolled in the scheme.
To get more reach, they will use random tags and tag random people.
The giveaway will not be mentioned on the official brand website or application.
The giveaway is designed in such a manner that it will slowly trick you into sending your funds and giving your personal details.
The biggest crypto giveaway scam happened by using the name of a famous public figure and his company’s name. I’ll share some details about the scam in the heading below. Let me first ask the most common question asked over the internet.
NO! Tesla's bitcoin giveaway is one of the biggest crypto giveaway scams. It is considered that most people were defrauded and lost millions in it. One of the victims interviewed the BBC as he lost 10 BTC, which is equal to $271,817.00 in today's date.
Many people believed the scam because the scammer impersonated Elon Musk and advertised his scam on Twitter with multiple fake profiles. The advertisement said if you participate, you will get double the amount you sent, and one can send anything from 0.1 BTC to 20 BTC.
As the transaction was irreversible, people couldn't get a refund, but for double returns, they sent their funds. Even the fraudster created a phony website that looked legitimate and had a timer for double returns. The case was investigated, and the authorities tried to track down the con artist, but they didn’t find any success yet.
Concluding the article, I hope you got all the valuable information on the crypto giveaway scam. To be safeguarded from giveaway scams, I’ll recommend that you to think straight when such offers pop up. You just have to be vigilant and ignore such posts. If you believe the giveaway is legit, read the policies and learn more about the offer. If you spot anything suspicious, report it directly; don’t hesitate.
