May 26, 2021
1004
0How Are Miners Deceived?
Scammers lure victims to a copy of the manufacturer’s website of a scarce crypto farm and bilk them out of a solid amount of bitcoin. Unfortunately, this is not the plot of a new science fiction thriller, but today’s plot of many scams.
If you do not want to become a victim of a popular scam, read the article and be on the alert!
How does mining fraud occur?
At first glance, it may seem that the fraud procedure is complex and requires a lot of effort and time. However, everything happens quickly and simply and looks something like the following. First, a potential crypto miner receives an email, for example from a user under the nickname BitmainTech, which directs the user to a Google document.
*Note: This name should not arouse suspicion since it is the name of a Chinese manufacturer of mining farms.
Why a Google document? It’s no secret that Google services such as tables, documents, forms, and even photos are ideal services for phishing and spam mailings. They can be used for automatic mailings to all those with whom the author shared a file, a calendar entry, etc. Since the emails do not come from the author himself, but rather from legitimate and popular services, even from Google itself, they usually easily pass spam filters.
Stop using Google right now! Instead, read the article and know the truth about this media giant.
In addition, the recipient himself may not suspect anything because in the message line they see the clickable address of the Google document. Also, a scammer can choose any username, and their real address will be hidden, so it will be complicated to determine their identity.
At the same time, the email looks like a normal notification. But it contains a standard text trap. As a rule, this is an announcement about the start of sales of the Antminer S19 mining farm. Further, in the guise of the Bitmain management, the scammers report that the equipment will be available for ordering shortly, so you need to make a payment as soon as possible.
The message contains a warning that the number of products is limited. Therefore, it is essential to purchase right now, or you may miss out on the opportunity. In addition, the text contains:
- A lot of numbers.
- Graphs.
- Other data intended to confuse the client and make the message seem authentic.
After the user clicks on the link from the message, they will open a Google document that contains approximately the same text as the email. However, there is a clickable link in the text that opens the bitmain[.]sa[.]com website, which copies the design of the official bitmain[.]com
*Note the differences in the address!
Note that after checking the WHOIS, it was discovered that this domain was registered in March 2021.
Interestingly, the scammers used the HTTPS protocol, which provides a greater degree of protection compared to the standard HTTP. This is because so many users blindly trust this protocol. However, HTTPS does not guarantee that a site is real and secure. And if scammers use this protocol, it will not protect victims from their online scams.
How do they simulate order processing?
At the time of writing, the hardware purchase button on the official website of Bitmain was inactive. So for placing an order, you need to wait for a new batch closer to October. In comparison, the fake site offers the chance to buy equipment without delay. The price on the fake site is the same as the price shown on the real site: $5,017.
When we have chosen a fake site, we need to log in to an existing account or register a new one. To register, you must enter your data, including your email address. However, no order confirmation email is sent to your email address.
*Note: There are two possible reasons why you need to enter the email address in the registration field: to give the site greater credibility or future use by the scammers.
Interestingly, even though there was no confirmation email, you can still log in to your registered account. Next, you need to continue placing the order, and now you need to select the delivery address, which it is possible these data scammers also collect for sale.
After that, you need to select the delivery operator. As you may know, most of the mining industry giants, including Bitmain, are located in China. Transportation of heavy and expensive equipment from there is quite costly. However, the scammers ask for only about $5 for delivery. You can only pay with cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC.
Then, there is an essential stage for payment of the order. For this, you need to send the payment to the crypto wallet. However, there is one caveat – it needs to be done within 2 hours. Otherwise, the order is canceled.
Well, that’s it! The imitation of the purchase is completed, and the money has gone in an unknown direction. The personal account with the order information is empty, and the buttons do not work either. The scam is complete.
How not become a victim of fraud
If you do not want to become a victim of such scammers, you need to be vigilant and not give in to the hype.
- You should be especially alert in situations where you are encouraged to hurry with the payment. In this sense, the sudden appearance in your mailbox of a scarce product on sale is no different from a sudden lottery win. And this is especially suspicious if you haven’t even bought a lottery ticket.
- After receiving an offer from a well-known brand, independently find the official website in the search engine and look for the promotion or news that is mentioned in the letter.
- Check the URL in the address bar. Site substitution is a common technique in phishing schemes.
Remember, the only free cheese is in the mousetrap!
