A new giveaway scam has just launched and is reeling in a few unsuspecting people, so once again, we remind our reader to be vigilant and not to fall for these.
New Ways to Lose Cryptos
This time its the website https://bitcoin22.io/ and according to details on the site, each hodler of the digital asset has a chance to receive extra amount of Bitcoin by joining the giveaway.
The site also includes a portrait of Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor as well as the brand emblem to make it more trustworthy.
In November 2021, the figure of the CEO of Microstrategy was used for a Bitcoin scam.
An impersonator of Michael Saylor took more than $4 million from victims in a gifting scam. The format of that scam seemed similar and the tagline showed less difference: “ Hurry up and take part in the giveaway of 5000 BTC.” The only difference is the amount promised.
Long History of Scams
Despite the fact that Bitcoin’s global adoption has increased in recent years, there are still a lot of roadblocks in the way of public acceptance.
Unlike traditional money transactions, which must go through an intermediary and incur various service fees, Bitcoin transactions can be made directly between participants at no cost.
The unusual behavior has resulted in civil, commercial, and criminal lawsuits based on fraud and the misappropriation of millions of dollars in actual money.
Scammers frequently imitate celebrities, such as Michael Saylor, and then request that the user donate bitcoins to a certain address. To generate trust, they offer to quadruple the amount of cryptocurrency that investors deposit.
MicroStrategy’s CEO, Saylor, is a huge advocate of cryptocurrency.
MicroStrategy has purchased up to 114,042 BTC since August, making it the highest Bitcoin holding of any publicly traded business. At current market prices, the holdings are worth more than $6.57 billion.
This Happens a Lot
Scammers have imitated Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as well as government institutions and well-known businesses, in addition to Saylor.
Around May 2021, cyber thieves took more than $2 million in bogus presents tied to Musk, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The scam involving the Indian Prime Minister’s Twitter account, which occurred on December 12 of last year, is particularly significant.
Hackers gained access to Prime Minister Modi’s Twitter account, saying that India had purchased a big amount of bitcoin and was distributing it to citizens across the country. A fraudulent link was attached by the hackers.
With over 73 million followers on Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular incumbent politician. His Twitter announcement drew a lot of attention and was swiftly deleted.
The incident occurred on December 12th, as India moves to stifle burgeoning cryptocurrency trading with a new law expected to be introduced in parliament this month.
The Prime Minister’s account had been hacked for a short time, according to the regulatory agency, but Twitter had returned access to him.
This is the second time Prime Minister Modi’s social account has been hacked under cyber attack. Last year, his other Twitter account was also hijacked and sent a tweet urging the public to donate to a fake Covid-19 relief fund.
In recent years, cryptocurrency fraud has risen substantially. The business appears to have succumbed to its own success, as fraud cases are often linked to the rapid rise in digital asset prices.
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