See a bitcoin/crypto scam site? Don't just ignore it. Report it.

[mk4]

mjglqw, the reports of such sites actually make a big difference because they become blocked in Chrome / Firefox, but also some popular security software is using the same data for they antifraud/phishing protection modules. So if many people report some site this will turn red light on Google's side, and they will block it very quickly.

Oh for sure. Almost forgot about that. I mentioned that the effect might be minuscule because chances are, by the time that we(the more educated ones in terms of security/scams) find out about these scam sites, chances are that a good number of people has already been affected. +1

[Eclipse26]

Yes people on the Internet mostly won't care about others. Of course they don't know them that's why they're just letting it even they know it's a scam. It's fine that they don't involve themselves as long as they're not the one getting scammed. Im also guilty that sometimes I ignore people who are asking for help cause they got scammed but if i know that a site is a scam, I'll tell it to prevent them.
But what's sad that scammers are being more knowledgeable that they know how to handle it. Even a single report can't do something to stop that site.

[agentx44]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

I think this is a good wake up call to everyone, that we should not just ignore the scams as we avoid it since there's still a possibility that someone would fall into their trap. We should take action and quit being selfish because as we keep on ignoring those scams, they would just keep on feeding leading to multiply to even higher number as time passes by. If we are going to act blind when we see such things, nothing will ever change in the crypto world so let us start doing the said gesture to save everyone from harm.

[kryptqnick]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

Thanks! I agree that it's better to do something than nothing. And although I almost never encounter websites which I strongly suspect of scamming people, when I do I don't really know what to do with them. At least making a fast google report is a good start. I got to say, though, that the difference can indeed be minuscule. I report offensive content of Facebook from time to time, and even though sometimes there is very clear hate speech there, Facebook always writes that it does not think this content is against the company's principles (so nobody obviously looks at it, it's an automatic reply). But if many people report the same website, it would probably make a difference.

[imstillthebest]

Yes people on the Internet mostly won't care about others. Of course they don't know them that's why they're just letting it even they know it's a scam. It's fine that they don't involve themselves as long as they're not the one getting scammed. Im also guilty that sometimes I ignore people who are asking for help cause they got scammed but if i know that a site is a scam, I'll tell it to prevent them.
But what's sad that scammers are being more knowledgeable that they know how to handle it. Even a single report can't do something to stop that site.

if a single report yes its hard to take down the site but if we all will unite and report scammers , it will be more believable and investigators can take imediate action . i also encounter people that ask for help because they said that they have been scammed and like you i also ignore them but you should not be guilty because this is also one of the tactic of scammers.  we shall also report these people if possible and the site that they are refering too

[mk4]

I think it's much better if you report whatever you want to report in the scam accusation section of the forum rather than creating a thread in bitcoin discussion. It could save moderator some time.

If you've actually read the thread, I'm obviously not reporting specific websites. I'm just encouraging the community to report scam sites they find instead of just ignoring it.

Maybe try actually reading the thread before making a response?

I got to say, though, that the difference can indeed be minuscule. I report offensive content of Facebook from time to time, and even though sometimes there is very clear hate speech there, Facebook always writes that it does not think this content is against the company's principles (so nobody obviously looks at it, it's an automatic reply). But if many people report the same website, it would probably make a difference.

I totally agree with what you said concerning Facebook(and most social media sites). It could be different with Google scams though, though I really don't know as I don't really track how quick Google blocks certain scam sites. But yea, regardless if it's slow, it doesn't mean that we should stop reporting.

[joinfree]

Personally,  i don't really think much is done when scam sites or projects are been reported. This forum for example, there have been a lot of scam projects launched here and people have made reports about them but there hasn't been anything done to prevent the promotion of scam projects here.  How do you expect people to report scam sites and projects when nothing is been done to prevent people from launching scam projects here ?

I believe forum staffs have a whole lot of chaos to attend to in this forum in addition to keeping an eye on every tiny bit of project that pops up in here. On the average, we see about 5 projects getting launched in this forum everyday. Do you think they have the capacity to look into all this aside cleansing this forum of spammers? That's why it states clearly that people should do their own due diligence and also gives a strong warning to projects that get launched in here. Just take a look at the image below, especially where the arrow is pointed and you will know that the forum warns users but some folks just don't pay attention to some naunces of details.

[bounceback]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

I am very grateful to you OP, because you have made a post about a scam or phishing site in my opinion this scam should be reported immediately so as not to endanger many others or ourselves, for me it is better to lose a little time to report a fake site rather than losing money when browsing pishing sites like that I hope their Google team must immediately block sites that can harm other people.

[asus09]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

We have report with scam site of crypto because give bad reputation for bitcoin and other ICO scam, many scam site of promoting scam ICO in bitcointal tread, reddit and twitter social media, they have try to scam many investor and run away after reach profit with their project. Thanks for every one have help to discuss with other member to give information with scamp site project.

[gabbie2010]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

I am very grateful to you OP, because you have made a post about a scam or phishing site in my opinion this scam should be reported immediately so as not to endanger many others or ourselves, for me it is better to lose a little time to report a fake site rather than losing money when browsing pishing sites like that I hope their Google team must immediately block sites that can harm other people.

I also commend the effort of the OP in bringing to notice this scam menace that had been painting the cryptospace in a bad light I am suggesting a special Thread should be dedicated to those scam sites this will help newbies not to fall for these scams because those pranks are usually targeted beginners in cryptos who are usually carried away with juicy offers.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Or outright just doing shady scammy stuff, report them to the consumer and business bureaus in their jurisdictions.

I doubt anyone is doing that.  People rarely even go to the authorities when they get scammed for large amounts of crypto, probably because they don't want the cops to know they're involved with cryptocurrencies.  It's understandable, too, with the bad press that bitcoin gets.  Understandable but frustrating.

Better to just ignore all of these scam sites in my opinion, and don't look for them and don't give them the clicks.  It's the same thing with every ico that comes to market.  You know it's probably going to be a scam from the get go, so why bother even paying attention to all of them?  I'm not saying scam sites shouldn't be reported, because warnings are always good, but I don't think they're very effective.  Often someone will only find that warning *after* they've been scammed.  Many people don't do their due diligence beforehand.

[bL4nkcode]

To all related to phishing sites, you can just search the domain to whois.net, you will see what its registrar then directly report the domain, registrars like Namecheap and godaddy has good support to eliminate this fraud sites on their record. They will suspend the account of those domains after a few days.
That's what I did to those clone websites.

[pawanjain]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

Reporting a scam site is a good idea but it does no good if the reports aren't acknowledge properly.

For the above mentioned websites:
How many reports are needed for a scam site to be taken down ?
If we report a site, what are the chances that it will be taken down ?

[veleten]

in addition to OP's links I can add this site:
https://badbitcoin.org/
while it is not an official regulatory or governmental site , it has been pretty effective in listing scammy sites since 2014
every little helps - you spend two-three minutes of your time to report a potential scam and it could save someone a lot of money

[diahsw]

very useful this article, considering that now there are many fraudsters whose work is only deceiving people, and making losses everywhere, I will save this link to always report if there are sites that are scams.

[1Referee]

How many reports are needed for a scam site to be taken down ?

It's impossible to say how many as it can be a few hundred or a few thousand. It's always better to have many people report the same site than just one person doing it, because that increases the priority to have the authorities or companies such as Google actually look into it.

If we report a site, what are the chances that it will be taken down ?

Based on my own experience, it varies a lot. I have reported numerous scam applications in the Google Play Store, where some are being removed in a day, while others are left active for weeks. I think it yet again comes down to how many people report them. The more people report an application, the more likely it is that something is actually wrong with it, so Google has to act swiftly.

What I do nowadays is that I ask friends and family to report it as well, which increases the odds of a quick removal.

[Lucius]

Oh for sure. Almost forgot about that. I mentioned that the effect might be minuscule because chances are, by the time that we(the more educated ones in terms of security/scams) find out about these scam sites, chances are that a good number of people has already been affected. +1

You're right about that, most of the phishing sites from thread I posted are still online, which only means that they continue to be a threat to those inexperienced and careless. It is not only about people who report such sites, but also about all other links in the chain of responsibility. Reports should be handled much faster and more efficient, but Google is in most cases too slow (no manpower).

And how do these pages even come online? They need to buy hosting/domain first, and service providers obviously they don't check what this is really about. Prevention is always something that should come first, but everyone who should be on the front line is generally looking for profit first, and then they rely on internet users to be the ones to fix things.

[kuyaJ]

This could be through scam promotions on Bitcointalk, Reddit, or any other social media sites, or maybe through Google ads, etc. Instead of just completely ignoring it, spend a few seconds reporting the scam site as to hopefully prevent potential victims from falling for these scams. Even if the difference to be made probably is just minuscule, it could make a difference.

Remember, it only takes a few seconds.

• https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_general/
• https://www.us-cert.gov/report-phishing

Reporting a scam site is a good idea but it does no good if the reports aren't acknowledge properly.

For the above mentioned websites:
How many reports are needed for a scam site to be taken down ?
If we report a site, what are the chances that it will be taken down ?

I also think when if a site getting down then they created a new one.  So, it is better not to report only but to warn some person from the kind of scam on the site because they can create a new site but if a person totally don't know then they easily bait from the site so it means the problem was on the people who actually bite a bait.

[Artemis3]

Thanks for this reminder. But the reality is that it won't just take a little time. In Telegram alone, volumes of messages are in promotion of scams. This forum alone must also have its fair share, especially in the altcoin section. In Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter, scams related to cryptocurrency are also very rampant.

But I guess everybody in this crypto community should start spending at least a little random time for this. I think it is the responsibility of each member of the world's crypto community to keep it clean. Let's all start reporting Bitcoin SV! 

Telegram is easy to configure to not accept messages from unknown people (too bad its not the default). And when you get a PM from someone in one of the groups you joined, you just do the same thing as in IRC: Ignore it by default.

Its hard for people to switch from "real life" "trust" model, to the online "trust no one" model. This is a social engineering exploit. Some exchanges have chats on Telegram, one day you join and report some problem, suddenly a PM comes impersonating "support", well guess what, its a phishing attempt. Usually support is given in public, for very good reason. Don't share login password credentials, etc. You can report the user and get it banned, but they have an army of fakes ready to pray on the next victim...

[Genemind]

Yes, it's really important that we'll report scam sites s they wouldn't be able to victimize more people in the future. It's also better if we'll spread awareness so people we'll ger reminded and will get rid of fake or scam sites and projects. We should also be skeptical and double-check upon opening different sites so we'll know about their legitimacy.