PHISHING - The worst nightmare of Newbies.

[MagnificentX]

For something best known to me and also my lifestyle of being reserved, I thought I wouldn't make new posts or rush to start a discussion until I have taken my time to learn a lot about and enough about the forum. But in the few days I've spent on the forum, I have seen many posts about scams and a lot of people talking about PHISHING. It was at this point I thought I should make this post because I myself is a victim of it and maybe if my fellow newbies see someone like them talk and share experiences about it, then they might pay attention more.

I was scammed sometime back in 2024, when TON was high in demand due to many tapping tokens which were under it's blockchain. As at that time, there was a token called DOGS which was really successful so a lot of persons were up and into it. I was among the people who was persuaded by my friends to be part of it and I involved even when I was the nonchalant type. I tapped and followed up with the airdrop just to feel what it was like to be among the trend. I didn't know I was involving myself in what will later be the my first crypto scam experience.
After the airdrop had ended and I didn't do well since I wasn't serious, I shrugged it off and let it go, not until I received a a telegram message from what looked like the DOGS bot. This message looked so real and trust me I couldn't get my head off if as it was showing that I had over 2000 DOGS token unclaimed and I should come claim it. Without thinking straight, I thought it was God doing is thing and that was how I entered the bot and started linking my TONKEEPER wallet. At first when I tried claiming the token, they told me I didn't have TON on my wallet for transfer fee and on that same day, I called my cousin who was looking for who to buy his TON because he needed money and I bought $10 worth of TON. Immediately I tapped on the claim button, that was how I lost everything that was on my wallet and it was at that point, I realized I was a victim of scam.

Everything looked so good, true and genuine until I had lost everything and that's just how and what PHISHING is. It was when I had cried out, that was when my cousin who sold the TON to be noticed and checked it and signified the little mistakens the scammers made that could have helped me know I was being scammed. So I would really want to advise the newbies that they shouldn't keep things there see on the Internet concerning their to themselves but rather speak to others who have the experience in it.

 

[7juju]

Glad you didn't lose big money to that scam. The good side to this is that you learnt something from that experience. I wouldn't blame you entirely because you were a novice and it was your first time of engaging in something like that. You were just over excited that's was what made you fall for that. Since you were new and it was someone close to you that talked you into doing the airdrop in the first place.

When you noticed something like that knowing fully well that your initial attempt wasn't successful, you would have talked to the person that introduced you to the Dog airdrop before engaging with that second bot. Probably he would have talked you out of it. Sometimes when we get offers that are too good to be true, try and relate it with someone close, especially someone who has more knowledge in that area, it could come in handy. Let greed not make us fall for things others could have helped us escape.

[Nailhim]

Sorry for your lost. But I will advise you not to involve serious discussion with anyone you don't know in telegram because telegram is where imposters use in scamming people. If anyone asks you to send money or deposit money to do something in telegram, please don't do it, unless you want to be scam again. If any company have telegram channel, discuss with them in the general group and not in a private chat.

[livingfree]

That's charge to experience and we all have ways of discovering these scams. If not from our experience, it's from other victims experiences.

Either of the two, they're going to make us remember it all and will avoid the next time we encounter it. You don't entertain random messages that tells you have something to claim.

Because that's likely a scam that awaits you to become greedy and will blindly follow their instructions of depositing for "fee" and such.

[coupable]

I am sorry for you lost your money, and I hope the lesson wasn't at a high cost so you could learn not to believe everything you see online that seems real. Some offers are so good to be true.

To help newbies get the lesson clearly, I have two questions:
1/ Do you have any information on how the scammer could have found your telegram profile to contact you? I mean, how could they have found your profile and know that you are into the Dogs airdrop? you have only mentioned that you talked with friends.
2/ Did the scammer succeeded to completely empty the wallet of all its assets? Or did he only succeed in stealing $10 worth of Ton?

[Mitchell]

I'm sorry you got scammed, but I'm going to lock this topic. Phishing ahs been/is being discussed in the other topics. All of these "watch out for'-topics are flooding this section.