How I Almost Gave Scammers Access To My wallet This Morning.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Hi Newbies, please be extra vigilant out there, Don't immediately trust any investment, trade or Airdrop information you find out there, even if the information is coming from the CEO of the project him/herself, because the CEO is not a superhuman, He/She is a normal human being like you and I, He/She can be misinformed, His/Her account can be hacked and hackers use his/her name and account to scam his/her community members, He/She too can make mistakes, He/She can fail to do a due diligence before passing a trade, investment or Airdrop information to his/her community.
Always know that your security is in your hands, in crypto, nobody can secure your wallet/your money for you except you, if you follow a link shared by the CEO and your wallet end up being hacked by scammers, it is your fault, the CEO can only apologize, the loss is on you and you must bear it..... Here is what happened to me this morning.

There is this project i invested in, they partnered with another project called unifarm, the project i invested in offered staking on unifarm for its investors, so I had my tokens staked on unifarm for about three months now.
This morning, while checking my phone, i got a notification from telegram of a new post on the Announcement channel of the project, i decided to check and behold, its an announcement of a new airdrop.. see the screenshot below.



I got excited , who doesnt get excited when they see free money? , since this Airdrop information came from the official announcement of the project, and was also posted in the main chat group by the CEO, i assumed it was legitimate and clicked the link, the site opened and when i saw the Airdrop progress bar and how much time was left for the airdrop to come to an end which is 51 minutes...



I became so in a hurry to get in, And since this information came from the CEO of the project, i totally threw all caution to the wind, i got my metamask wallet connected immediately and and clicked on the claim button, and in just about 1 second, metamask opened a transaction dialogue prompting me to confirm claim of 175,000 Unifarm.io tokens which were worth about $435, (though I was in a hurry to join the airdrop because of the little time left, I wasn't too in a hurry to read, and this was my savior), immediately i saw the .io extension on the Unifarm token, it quickly occurred to me that this could be scam, i quickly rejected the transaction and disconnected my wallet.

Then I open scamadviser to check the reputation of the site, and behold...



After the above, i then confronted the admins of the project in the telegram group to know if they verified the legitimacy of this Airdrop from their partner< UNIFARM, and behold< i discovered they didn't.





The CEO later came online and said the Airdrop was a scam and apologized for not verifying it with Unifarm CEO before sharing it to the community, and after saying this, he immediately deleted all conversations about the Airdrop before I could get a screenshot of it.

ADVICE
Like i said earlier, in crypto, your security is in your hands, always pay 100 percent attention before you take actions, never be too in a hurry to do some research before joining any Airdrop or crowdsale.
The scammers will put something in place that will make you feel time is running out and you have to join immediately if you don't want to miss out, don't pay attention to this, for this is a strategy they use to force you to fomo in without doing some research first, Always pay attention before taking action.

Watch this 2.46 minutes youtube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BFB0qay-yE

EDIT:-the CEO later posted the below on the Announcement channel.

So far,
nothing have disappeared from my wallet,
 so i assume the hackers didn't gain access,
i am really thankful to my Creator.

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[tranthidung]

If you want to join airdrop (that I think waste of time0, you should use a single wallet for it.

If you use a wallet that you store big money for airdrop, some day you will be scammed and your money will be stolen. Even if you get scammed, money in wallet-for-airdrop should be small and much smaller than your main wallet so your loss will be smaller too.

Airdrop-wallet will save you, one way or another, and reduce your loss.

[masulum]

Scammers usually create fake groups on Telegram and other social media. I also suddenly joined a telegram group which I thought was the original group. lucky for me to always checking the username, so I can leave ASAP. Well, just a bit suggestions, fake group mostly talks about airdrops, if you find a group that provides airdrops for coins or altcoins that already have a market, try checking the group username or link, again. Maybe it's a clone, make sure to also check the typosquatting method for web page, this will provide a big chance of theft if you have already connected your wallet to the platform from the fake airdrop.

[kamvreto]

Incidents like this happen often, I've experienced it too. They are scammers who create fake telegram groups that are the same as the original group or they even copy the developer username to make it the same. Then make some announcements about the airdrop and some of the winners in it. Which in the end is a trap.
Need to be very alert to do any work, airdrop or whatever, be careful and alert even though it's an official account. Never give access to your wallet keys.

[Mpamaegbu]

If you want to join airdrop (that I think waste of time0, you should use a single wallet for it.

Your single sentence warehoused two vital points – The first being that airdrops aren't profitable this day (unlike what we experienced in 2017). It's a waste of time now. Secondly, what you rightly identified in using a different wallet is apt. That's if one must fancy their chances at all and indulge airdrops, then one should create a different wallet for it.

OP, you saved so many others the hurt of lost funds. Again, you did well alerting the CEO who should take all the blame for ignorantly misleading his investors. That's if he isn't in on the whole thing to start with in a bid to cash out big time. Trust no man on this cyberspace. With the little time I've spent online and in this industry I've come to conclude that there are just two weapons scammers use successfully. That's, one – Greed and 2 – Hastiness. Scammers want to pry on the greed of their would be victims by making them mouth watering offers they will find difficult to resist. This is coupled with making victims think the offer will close on them and they miss out if they don't hurry up and take the offer. Your story exemplifies both items. For me, I try not to be in a hurry whenever I'm on financial dealings, both in cryptos and outside it. I take my time and every other thing can pause until I'm sluggishly done.

[Lucius]

Telegram, airdrops, shitty tokens, and the desire for free money = a perfect opportunity for every scammer... The best way to ensure that something like this never happens to you is to not believe in fairy tales and not think that money grows on trees. Save everything valuable you have in the best possible way, preferably not online, and do not share sensitive information with anyone.

OP, you saved so many others the hurt of lost funds.

I wonder if they all managed to get away with it, because who knows how long that scam was online before the OP noticed it. Half the world may be sleeping, but the other half is awake at the same time.

[Text]

Thank you OP for this warning, you reminded us to be even stricter when it comes to the security of our wallets because with just one click we can lose everything we have worked for if we apply the desire to earn a lot and if we are not careful.

Maybe, what you should worry more about are your fellow investors in UNIFARM because maybe some of them have been victimized before you even discovered the negligence so that no one is fooled.

[Smartvirus]

It's not uncommon for users to confer the reputation of other users on a project they are affiliated with. In fact, its what goes on in the bounty and signature campaigns. Have a Newbie launch any campaign and there would be issues if the payments could be met and as such, a signed address of escrowed funds would be required but, should it come from am existing reputable manager that have managed several campaigns, doubt is quickly eliminated.

That's the same out there on any channel you are linked with. We ought to realise that humans and change and they could also be used. Hene, it becomes your duty to take security very seriously. Being in a hurry is one trick by scammers as, you tend to drop your guard in other to be time and that could prove to be very costly. Be cautious and always DYOR.

[Rikafip]

You dodged the bullet there OP, as they would most certainly cleaned your wallet.

Big problem with Metamask is that you can so easily lose everything if you connect it to a wrong website. I know a guy who lost six figure number year ago by connecting his Metamask to a fake website, just because he was in a hurry and wanted to buy some tokens (top result in Google was a fake website). And that guy wasn't some newbie, but someone who is living solely off crypto for the last ~5 years or so. All that you need  is losing your concentration for a minute or two and you are screwed.

[Little Mouse]

CD3D have partnered with Unifarm and shared the airdrop? I don’t know how much legitimate the project CD3D is but it doesn’t seem good. They may share an excuse but I doubt. I'm sure that they were doing this purposely. They are the scammer but playing innocent with you. In crypto, I don’t trust any link. I don't click them if they are not from my authentic source.
Also, always make sure you are in the right group. Most of the times, scammers create group on popular project name and promote these type of scams.

[cheezcarls]

In other words, the CEO is the one who isn't doing his own diligence and putting his reputation and trust at huge risk. But of course, we should be doing our own part as well by not always in a rush and taking time to verify everything first We should always not to be in a rush of anything.

Good thing that you have dodged the bullet mate! Good job! I know that we are all so vulnerable to be in a rush for anything that is promising (especially when it comes to free money), but it is better to have our wallet safe or not compromised by the scammers and hackers.

It's what I have failed for myself before when 3 of my wallets got hacked approximately $12k+ combined that ended up me being depressed and stressed. But because I am now in a good position, so I'm recovering in progress.   

[Gozie51]

If you want to join airdrop (that I think waste of time0  )

Long story cut short. Concerning airdrops on crypto tokens , at a point I concluded and also realised they are the most useless effort you can make online at least probably not in this time. In the past maybe some benefited and it was less scamming. Now they worth nothing with your time plus you risk your funds and details to claim the shit. Op you are lucky to identify the website wasn't the same and alerting the management safed more gullible free money seekers like you in the group  . For long I came to know there is nothing free especially online. Be careful when you are promised something for free.

[Rruchi man]

if you follow a link shared by the CEO and your wallet end up being hacked by scammers, it is your fault, the CEO can only apologize, the loss is on you and you must bear it.....

CEO is just a title, don't get blinded by it, it doesn't exclude anyone for being a scammer. Anyone can really just call themselves as that title can be added to the list of most abused titles. Do not just trust anyone because they are the CEO of something, consider the possibility that they may possess a dubious personality and what they stand for may be dubious as well.

The scammers will put something in place that will make you feel time is running out and you have to join immediately if you don't want to miss out, d

Same strategy that marketers use- CTA (Call to action), definitive words that prompt hurried decisions/actions.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

If you want to join airdrop (that I think waste of time0,

Well, assuming this Airdrop were to be legitimate, I don't think it would have been a waste of time, because Unifarm is already a bit established, at least, they are listed on a few good exchanges, this airdrop would have fallen in the category of uniswap, 1inch, shapeshift kind of airdrop, where those that were lucky enough to qualify for it were really happy.

you should use a single wallet for it.

Yes, this is a really good idea, but this can not apply to all airdrops, there are airdrops that require you hold a certain type of coin or token in your wallet to be eligible, in this type of airdrop, you have no choice but to participate with the wallet holding the coins or token that is required to make you eligible, for example, uniswap, 1inch and shapeshift airdrops all required you connect a wallet that you have used to trade on the platform before.

[abel1337]

There are airdrops that is worth it trying. In my experience, Easier task such as social media interaction and were mostly a shitty token. They just want a traction to their social media and to make free advertisement, They just do a airdrop for their token. Worthy airdrops do platform interactions, They will make you use their platforms and do task like staking and swapping depends on the token platform. Worthy airdrop usually do this to filter multiple accounts that's why they make each wallet do a transaction to their platform. Research is a must since not airdrop is legit. Also practice using a separate wallet for all of airdrop, NEVER use you main wallet to participate in those. I've seen multiple victims that their wallet was swept because of airdrops. Just be careful, Do research and verify.

[ultrloa]

Connecting our wallets from unknown platform telling that they will give airdrops will put us in huge risk that's why if we are not sure on things we do especially upon participating an airdrop we should do what other say to use dummy wallets intended for airdrops because if hackers get your access they cannot get anything from your wallet. Also we should not participate on any random obvious scam which team members hidden and roadmaps or whitepaper are so questionable nor plagiarized.

[tranthidung]

Yes, this is a really good idea, but this can not apply to all airdrops, there are airdrops that require you hold a certain type of coin or token in your wallet to be eligible, in this type of airdrop, you have no choice but to participate with the wallet holding the coins or token that is required to make you eligible

Even so, you can create another wallet and send exact amount of that token to be eligible for that airdrop. I know some airdrops have at least 2 conditions: min amount of token, and min holding time (perhaps 4 weeks and above). If you want to join, and want to be safe, create a new wallet, send your token there at the time that is enough to meet holding period requirement between your deposit day and airdrop day, and wait.

In some airdrop, you have to claim it manually, have to give access to your wallet (approval). It is when fake airdrop and hackers can steal your money if you use your main wallet to do it.

Revoke address with https://app.unrekt.net/

[2stout]

Thanks for sharing, glad they didn't get you.  However, it seems piss poor that the CEO or anyone in leadership was unware, even worse no vetting at all.  You may want to reconsider your investment as communication, which is essential, was basically non-existent during a critical time, and if this is any sign on how they run things, then run.  Also sketchy was them deleting your correspondences with them.

[lovesmayfamilis]

If you want to join airdrop (that I think waste of time0, you should use a single wallet for it.

Your single sentence warehoused two vital points – The first being that airdrops aren't profitable this day (unlike what we experienced in 2017). It's a waste of time now. Secondly, what you rightly identified in using a different wallet is apt. That's if one must fancy their chances at all and indulge airdrops, then one should create a different wallet for it.

The fact that airdrops are no longer relevant still loses its relevance when people still see such prize amounts. What happened in 2017 worked well in history, and many still hope to get free money.

I wouldn't be surprised if the CEO was also involved in this scam.

Positions on the Internet should not play a big role. Until you actually talk to that person by seeing their face, everything else can be fake.

I know a lot of stories from projects in 2018 and 2019 where people were given the position of CEO directors who did not know at all that scammers used their photos. If any item causes you to doubt, you need to immediately stay away from all sorts of distributions. Usually, intuition does not deceive.

[dansus021]

i have a bunch of them from gambling sites that can turn you always the winner, or high yield investment programs that offer you 999999% APY, or people from exchanges that can't withdraw their money, or

I don't know why but this keep popping up and people DM you give free money is good to be true in 9999 chance they are a scammer.