Today I was in the office and like every day I was checking the daily commitments, the markets and the various news from the Crypto world. I saw the notification from Gmail and I found an email to read, the sender was Google Form. I saw written: “0.579383 BTC is available to you!”.
I immediately thought: “Wow! I didn’t know today was Christmas! Cryptocurrencies are awesome! Today 1 Bitcoin is worth $ 22,900, so we’re talking about $ 13,000! Anyway, now that I think about it I have never filled out a Google Form of this type… maybe it’s better if I check”. Further down it was written: “Congratulations! You have been selected to participate in a unique project! Find out the details and get your Bitcoin” with a link to click on. I clicked on the link and this page opened:
The page talked about a Bitcoin help with instant payments to your Bitcoin wallet. Already 1 million people would have already applied. And here we are then explained how to participate:
Basically they tell you that you will receive your donation BUT at the same time you too will have to transfer 0.001 BTC to one of the participants. Obviously I understood from the beginning that this was an attempt to scam, you will not receive any Bitcoins and indeed you will lose the Bitcoins that you will transfer to other self-styled participants. The page asks the victims to enter their payment details, name, email, BTC address and an optional photo in order to receive voluntary Bitcoin help from the first 25–100 participants. By clicking on the “Accept Donate from project participants” button you will be redirected to other pages that show bogus donations to your wallet.
Grateful for so much generosity, you will want to reciprocate and transfer your Bitcoins to another participant’s address. Obviously you will not receive anything and you will lose the funds that you will transfer to the Bitcoin address indicated for the donation. Do not fill in anything and leave the page, often these pages are always very similar and use the image of important entrepreneurs who gravitate in the Crypto world such as Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, etc … These pages can also have functions that are harmful to your pc such as malware, viruses, browser hijackers, etc… Furthermore, they are always accompanied by bogus testimonies of self-styled participants who have received their Bitcoins, such as Ester who declares: ”My pension does not allow me to be posh and live very well! But thanks to this project and kind people, I went on a cruise with my daughter and grandson. Thank you all very much!“
Bullshits. Sometimes in these pages there are also gross punctuation errors, grainy or very low quality images, phrases such as “you won”, “just for today” to create a sense of urgency or “you are the lucky winner”.
Don’t get fooled by these scammers !!
Comment below if you have also received scam attempts, how you reacted and what happened next. Tell me if you want me to deal with other types of scams. Consider this space a place to talk without censorship.
A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.
Disclaimer: Trading cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade cryptocurrency you should carefully consider your investment objectives and your level of experience. Do Your Own Research. All opinions expressed here are owned by the respective writer and should never be considered as financial advice in any form.
