Fake 'mining' voucher scams
Does this article need to be translated?
This article was adapted from a blog post available here.
This is a type of scam that uses the promise of “mining” rewards to lure you into depositing tokens on the platform. At first, your balance on the platform appears to grow through these rewards. This is just a ruse: the balance these dapps display is false, and the scammers have been draining your wallet whilst deceiving you into believing that your balance was actually growing.
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How do fake 'mining' scams work?
The key step in executing this scam is for the malicious actor to obtain a token approval from you. This means you'll be signing a transaction that gives their smart contract (a program running on their dapp) permission to move your funds. Only then can they start to steal your funds as they intend.
Approvals are per token — so if you approve a request relating to USDT, the dapp will have permission to move that token according to its programming.
Luring you in
Before a scammer can get you to sign a token approval on their dapp, they need to lure you to that site in the first place.
The method for sharing the link to the dapp itself (a website) can vary significantly. Maybe it's in a Telegram group; maybe on Twitter; maybe via Instagram. It could also be in your direct messages on any platform. Whichever method they choose is not the key detail here: instead, we need to focus on what it is they're offering.
To attract you to their site, scammers promise some combination of:
- Guaranteed returns on an investment
- Free money
- Extremely high APYs (yields) in return for deposits.
This is where — they hope — your eyes will light up. Shut up and take my money! etc.