Spot the Difference! How to Spot NFT Scammers

Spot the Difference! How to Spot NFT Scammers

Okay, so you now you should have an understanding of the fundamentals of basic personal security within the digital Web3 and NFT spaces. Next, we will unpack a few examples of suspicious activity, explain the red flags, and how to respond. Let's dive in.

Advanced Phishing Scam on Discord

Red Flags:

🚩 Unknown sender contacting us on behalf of a major blockchain project called Enjin.

🚩 ‘Randomly Selected'

🚩 Stating we have ‘won’ Bitcoin and have a ‘limited’ amount of time to claim

🚩 Claim the Bitcoin via following a supplied link and to do so within 48 hours

🚩 Curated message to appear ‘Official’

What to do:

✔️ Report as spam, block and delete message

Example: 
NFT Scams AUS.NFT

 

Twitter Profile - Imposter Scam

Red flags:

🚩 Major Twitter profile followed without context

🚩 Misspelt Twitter handle - @Baeniemaxi instead of @beaniemaxi. Looks similar, right?

🚩 0 Tweets

🚩 Inconsistent followers vs following compared to original profile 

What to do:

✔️ Always cross check the profiles that follow you

✔️ Block, report and delete fake profiles

Example:
Imposter Scam AUS.NFT Safety Article

Twitter Response Comment - Imposter Scam

Red flags:

🚩 Misspelt Twitter handle - @Zssbecker21 instead of @Zssbecker. Looks similar, right? 

🚩 Requests to ‘Send a DM” / “I've got pump recommendations” 

🚩 Inconsistent followers vs following compared to original profile 

What to do 

✔️ Always cross check the name handle @twitterhandle against the confirmed page

✔️ Ignore, do not respond

Example:
Imposter Scam Alex Becker AUS.NFT Safety Article

 

YouTube Response Comment - Imposter Scam

Context & What to do 

🚩 Misspelt Youtube profile handle - “Pinned by Eric Krown Crypto'' is designed to look like “Eric Krown Crypto.” This can easily deceive the untrained eye.

🚩 Requests to text an obscure Whatsapp number

🚩 Refers you to contact another obscure person who can ‘teach, trade for you, hold for you’

🚩 Look for verified ✔️tick if the original profile is verified on Youtube, Twitter etc

What to do:
✔️ Always cross check the name handle @youtube handle against the confirmed page

✔️ Ignore, do not respond

Example:Alex Becker Imposter Scam AUS.NFT NFT Safety Article

 

Deepfake Video Scam

What is a deepfake?
Deepfakes are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness. This scam aims to trick you into believing the person is referring you to a ‘new’ project or website that ‘gives you high returns’ or ‘dividends etc’. 

Check out this example of a deepfake video depicting Elon Musk urging investors to purchase a scam token. These are deceptive and will become increasingly more frequent. It is important to always remember, public figures will never give you financial advice or advise you to buy a project or token.

Red flags:

🚩 Unnatural facial movement 

🚩 Choppy audio and poorly synced audio to mouth movement 

🚩 Rushed video 

🚩 Look for verified ✔️tick if the original profile is verified on Youtube, Twitter ect. 

What to do:
✔️ Always cross check the name handle @youtube handle against the confirmed page

✔️ Ignore, do not respond. 

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