The crypto space is booming with new entrants into the world of digital currencies. These newbies are mostly exposed to cybercrimes, scams, and hacking. It's even harder for this group of people to make sense of what's what.
I think it's right to educate such people on how to keep themselves secured and avoid being victims of crypto scams and wallet hacking.
The majority of crypto scam cases in recent times takes place on layer 2 chains and everyday more scamming projects and tokens appear. I know several people who have fallen victim to these cunning traps and lost a significant amount of money. For those new to crypto or without tech backgrounds, pinpointing scammy crypto projects or tokens can be tough. This is where security tools to safeguard oneself from falling into scam and being hacked come into play. This article will look into some methods of Phishing scams and safety tools to help keep yourself secured in the digital space.
Phishing /airdrop scams
In the crypto world, phishing and airdrops are prime scammer strategies. They trick you into dealing (purchase, sell, trade, or transfer) with fake tokens or websites. Below are some of the methods of Phishing to be aware of.
wallet hack scam
This is where you get tokens you didn't ask for show up in your wallet. This scam token airdropped into various wallets. It's either harmful by itself or it leads you to a dangerous website. They might use a website name like "eg BNBswap.io," to run a wallet-hacking scam.
Should you interact with it, your wallet is compromised. You might reveal access to your tokens or your private recovery phrase. After a week or two, this scam token goes missing, leaving your wallet empty. If you trade using the same wallet, the tokens will be lost.
Hidden fee scam
In a hidden fee scam, a scam token is airdropped into your wallets. The swindler cajoles you to claim this dropped offer either by swapping or transferring it. Every time you try, you unknowingly pay a whopping secret fee. The fraudsters pocket these fees and then slip away into oblivion.
You are clueless about these undercover charges or the hoodwink! The truth dawns on you only when you try to swap it back to your main token wallet.
New token/fake ICO scam (presale rug pull)
This is something many of us have faced. You may have been scammed before by this. It's usually a "bogus token project." They hype up a token sale during an ICO or presale. The presale ends, no tokens are given. The trickster takes off with your money. They disappeared, leaving Investors with zero value.
Identification of scam/phishing tokens
A tempting offer of free tokens might ring alarm bells. Big money doesn't come for free, even in the world of digital currency. If you spot a free airdrop offer of big money, your instinct might tell you it's a scam. There's always a catch - a swap, a token exchange, another airdrop, or they may want access to your wallet. Scams typically hide behind anonymity with sketchy details. No team, no links to any CEX, no listings, no audit, vague project description, inactive social accounts.
These guys can turn out to be surprisingly generous and considerate. Unlike authentic airdrops listed on CoinMarketCap, which distribute small reward pools through a lottery system and require tasks to be completed to be eligible to win, fraudulent projects offer airdrops freely to everyone and that too in a larger sum of money. Such tokens lack transparent contract source codes, as the creators wish to keep their motives hidden.
They distribute airdrop tokens to a large number of wallets without any application from the holder's end. If you stumble upon an unknown token owned by a large number of holders, it's practically guaranteed to be a scam.
Mitigation (How to save yourself)
The best way to completely avoid scams is by disregarding or steering clear of unexpected token offers dropped in your wallet.
* Resist the temptation to purchase, trade, or swap these tokens. Don't try it!
* Protect your wallet by not granting permissions. That's very important.
* Be wary of suspicious sites; refrain from clicking dubious links. Think safety first!
* If you notice an unfamiliar token in your wallet? Hide it! Even better, delete your wallet. This applies to both Metamask and TrustWallet.
* If you've mistakenly given permissions, withdraw them quickly upon realizing these tokens are fraudulent. Use the tools listed below to do this:
BscScan, allowance.beefy.finance, revoke.cash or other tools.
Any time you find out your seed phrase or private key is at risk, quickly set up an entirely new wallet(s). Then, transfer all your tokens there.
To stay totally secure from phishing websites install AegisWeb3 chrome extension on your desktop computer, or laptop, or use Laser.Desk contract scanner.
Laser.Desk is a site that helps scan any crypto token contracts to identify any potential scam projects or projects with uncleared information.
Laser.Desk provides the guidance for identifying a scam project and also helps with the process to disconnect wallets from a scam token site when you find out that a token you are about to Invest in has a hidden agenda.
The Laser.Desk service is super helpful. It shows you specific steps to prevent becoming tricked by a crypto scam. It also provides ways to safeguard yourself against these scams.
Conclusion
After researching methods and ways scam crypto projects do follow, there are more scam tokens and projects to be aware of. Regrettably, airdrop scams keep rising in a vicious circle. If you're just stepping into crypto, like airdrop hunters, the situation is often unclear. Many don't fully understand scam strategies, and are fooled repeatedly by the same scam. To fight this, it's wise to keep learning about ways to avoid scam, and protect yourself from becoming a victim of these malicious activities.