WikiScams :: Information about Bitcoin and crypto scams

[Bizmark13]

I'm launching a new site called WikiScams.

I was reading dree12's thread about his research into Bitcoin heists and thought it might work nicely in a wiki-style format since it is rather long. The name was inspired by WikiLeaks.

It works the same way as Wikipedia basically. And anyone can create or modify an article. No accounts required (yet). The idea is that it should educate people and hopefully make scams less common. Since the site uses an open license, some of the info could probably be trimmed down and ported over to the official Bitcoin wiki too. I'll probably be moving over some of the content to separate articles in the next few days.

There are two articles at the moment: Stackcoin and dice.ninja. Pirate's ponzi should have its own article too. I'll write it tomorrow unless someone else wants to do it.

The URL is www.wikiscams.org.

[Bizmark13]

Here is the Pirate article I promised to write:

Trendon T. Shavers, under the alias pirateat40 (also known as Pirate) was the operator of a ponzi scheme called Bitcoin Savings & Trust which was the largest scam ever in Bitcoin's history. Advertising itself as a virtual hedge fund, Bitcoin Savings & Trust allowed users to invest their bitcoins and gain a profit of 1% per day or 7% per week. Pirate claimed to be offering such high returns by carrying out market arbitrage activities.

The scam collapsed in August 17, 2012 nine months after it first began. Initially, Pirate claimed that the closure was voluntary and that all funds would be returned to investors but as weeks went by with no refunds, investors began to suspect that it was a scam from the very beginning. The total size of the ponzi scheme was estimated at 500,000 bitcoins worth almost $7 million which represented 5% of all bitcoins in existence at the time.

In 2013, Trendon T. Shavers was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) with defrauding investors. In 2014, U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzant ordered Shavers to pay a $40.7 million fine.

Link: http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Pirateat40

There are still a few more things I need to work on. I'll have to generate and upload a favicon, set up categories and redirects, and tidy up the main page. Any feedback is appreciated.

[mishax1]

Good concept, but you should have added more content to the site before posting to attract more audience..

[syamster]

Thats good Idea, there is lots of scams going on in web, I will try to add some articles soon

[MAsterV]

Nice concept.. Looks like something fun

[Bizmark13]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I'm not sure whether or not I should include borderline cases like Dicebitco.in or cases where it is unsure if there was a scam perpetrated or not - e.g. Mt. Gox or Inputs.io. Both sites claimed that they were hacked which if true, would disqualify them from being scams. What does the community think about these cases?

Good concept, but you should have added more content to the site before posting to attract more audience..

When the site was first launched, it only had 2 very short pages. Now it has 6 and they're much longer so it's definitely growing.

I uploaded a favicon but it doesn't seem to be showing up from here yet. I still need to set up categories too. Redirects have been set up and are confirmed working.

All existing pages have been expanded and several new ones have been written:

Bitmixer.info (scam mixing service): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Bitmixer.info

Cryptory (HYIP and ponzi cloud mining firm): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Cryptory

Oreocoin (altcoin with virus instead of wallet): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Oreocoin

To do: ShareXcoin and CryptoDouble

[mishax1]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I'm not sure whether or not I should include borderline cases like Dicebitco.in or cases where it is unsure if there was a scam perpetrated or not - e.g. Mt. Gox or Inputs.io. Both sites claimed that they were hacked which if true, would disqualify them from being scams. What does the community think about these cases?

Good concept, but you should have added more content to the site before posting to attract more audience..

When the site was first launched, it only had 2 very short pages. Now it has 6 and they're much longer so it's definitely growing.

I uploaded a favicon but it doesn't seem to be showing up from here yet. I still need to set up categories too. Redirects have been set up and are confirmed working.

All existing pages have been expanded and several new ones have been written:

Bitmixer.info (scam mixing service): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Bitmixer.info

Cryptory (HYIP and ponzi cloud mining firm): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Cryptory

Oreocoin (altcoin with virus instead of wallet): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Oreocoin

To do: ShareXcoin and CryptoDouble

You almost had me confused with Bitmixer.info, you should highlight that this is NOT https://bitmixer.io.

[Bizmark13]

You almost had me confused with Bitmixer.info, you should highlight that this is NOT https://bitmixer.io.

Yeah, it's a shame that their names are so similar. I'm in the Bitmixer.io sig campaign myself and while I've never used their service, I know from other peoples' experiences that they have been a really good company so far.

I added a disclaimer at the top of the page and mentioned it again in the article that the two should not be confused. If anyone thinks that more could be done to distinguish the two then they can feel free to modify it themselves.

Also the favicon is now showing up which is good. I added two more pages:

CryptoDouble (ponzi where owner ran away with coins): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=CryptoDouble
ShareXcoin (scam altcoin exchange): http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=ShareXcoin

[Bizmark13]

Hiya folks. I added a new article about ReserveShare. It's not 100% confirmed to be a scam but the evidence seems to point more towards it being one so I went ahead and included it.

Found another good list of BTC-related scam sites here:

http://www.badbitcoin.org/thebadlist/

To be honest, there aren't that many more scams that I have a deep knowledge of so perhaps some more contributors for the wiki would be nice.

Or alternatively, just post some suggestions for new articles in this thread and I'll write them up.

Also, I decided to go ahead and add articles about possible scams like Inputs.io and Dicebitco.in but they will be worded so that the reader knows that it's a possible scam and definitely not 100% confirmed.

To do: Add references to RSU page, add pages for the 2 previously mentioned sites, and tidy up main page.

[pedrog]

You sure ain't gonna get to a situation where you lack content to add to the website.

New material almost every day, you almost can starting articles for still active companies, in case of a sudden exit scam.

[Bizmark13]

You sure ain't gonna get to a situation where you lack content to add to the website.

New material almost every day, you almost can starting articles for still active companies, in case of a sudden exit scam.

Unfortunately, this is probably true. There are probably many cloud mining companies, dice sites, altcoins, and exchanges that will end up being scams in the coming months.

Anyway, I finished the page for DiceBitco.in although it's looking a bit rough. A part of me wonders whether it's a good idea to include such borderline cases but personally, I feel the site would be incomplete without them. Any corrections are appreciated:

http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=DiceBitco.in

[Bizmark13]

Added the article for Inputs.io. It was a bit rushed but I'll try and clean it up a bit later. Personally, I feel it might not belong in this wiki since the general consensus seems to be that TradeFortress was actually hacked and had no malicious intent but unfortunately, WikiHacks.org was already taken:

http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Inputs.io

I might add a subdomain (e.g. hacks.wikiscams.org) instead and move content like this there since I'm probably being a bit unfair to TF right now by putting his site next to ones like Stackcoin.

[twister]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I'm not sure whether or not I should include borderline cases like Dicebitco.in or cases where it is unsure if there was a scam perpetrated or not - e.g. Mt. Gox or Inputs.io. Both sites claimed that they were hacked which if true, would disqualify them from being scams. What does the community think about these cases?

I'll tell you what I think about this. No site is ever going to claim that "Yeah. We scammed you losers", They are all going to sing the same song. "Sorry, We were hacked  ", so they can easily get away with it without anyone pointing fingers at them.

For me I think these were scams but I don't have proof so I can't claim that my statement is 100% true. So in the end it's up to you what scams you think should be included in your site and what not.

[Bizmark13]

How about you add how to detect / avoid scam
Especially about HYIP or cloud mining

It sure can help many people

Good idea. I'll be sure to add some guides soon.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I'm not sure whether or not I should include borderline cases like Dicebitco.in or cases where it is unsure if there was a scam perpetrated or not - e.g. Mt. Gox or Inputs.io. Both sites claimed that they were hacked which if true, would disqualify them from being scams. What does the community think about these cases?

I'll tell you what I think about this. No site is ever going to claim that "Yeah. We scammed you losers", They are all going to sing the same song. "Sorry, We were hacked  ", so they can easily get away with it without anyone pointing fingers at them.

For me I think these were scams but I don't have proof so I can't claim that my statement is 100% true. So in the end it's up to you what scams you think should be included in your site and what not.

I decided to go ahead and include them even though they're not 100% confirmed to be scams (and chances are, we'll probably never know), since many of those in the community think that they were scams. Not to mention there seems to be a general consensus that even if they weren't outright scams, their owners were still negligent with their users' funds or dishonest at the very least.

That being said, I should also point out that there have been occasions where scammers actually admitted to their scamming behavior. Stackcoin is the most memorable example:

never forget!

ah the good old days 

We didn't forget ahah



Still waiting for this gif to be the official alt-coin logo !

Thanks to everyone for the 69.5 btc, don't worry they have been well spent ! And thanks to the guy who sent 0.5 more to make a round 70, also for the retard who sent some btc 3 months after !

STACKCOIN WILL NEVER DIE ! NEVER FORGET YOUR LESSON !
WE WILL COME BACK
BETTER
STRONGER
STAY TUNED FOR THE BEST SCAM EVER !

The most recent example was the "Evolution" Darknet which happened earlier this week:

Bitcoin Scammers Run Off With $12 Million: “Going to The Caribbean… Hope You Guys Understand”

The most recent example comes to us from the “Evolution” Darknet, which according to a report from Crytpo Coins News shut down their web server and ran off with $12 million in user bitcoins...

I’ll be around around for a short period of time before permanently moving to the caribbeans, I hope you guys understand.

Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-19/bitcoin-scammers-run-12-million-%E2%80%9Cgoing-caribbean%E2%80%A6-hope-you-guys-understand%E2%80%9D

[twister]

I decided to go ahead and include them even though they're not 100% confirmed to be scams (and chances are, we'll probably never know), since many of those in the community think that they were scams. Not to mention there seems to be a general consensus that even if they weren't outright scams, their owners were still negligent with their users' funds or dishonest at the very least.

That being said, I should also point out that there have been occasions where scammers actually admitted to their scamming behavior. Stackcoin is the most memorable example:

never forget!

ah the good old days 

We didn't forget ahah



Still waiting for this gif to be the official alt-coin logo !

Thanks to everyone for the 69.5 btc, don't worry they have been well spent ! And thanks to the guy who sent 0.5 more to make a round 70, also for the retard who sent some btc 3 months after !

STACKCOIN WILL NEVER DIE ! NEVER FORGET YOUR LESSON !
WE WILL COME BACK
BETTER
STRONGER
STAY TUNED FOR THE BEST SCAM EVER !

The most recent example was the "Evolution" Darknet which happened earlier this week:

Bitcoin Scammers Run Off With $12 Million: “Going to The Caribbean… Hope You Guys Understand”

The most recent example comes to us from the “Evolution” Darknet, which according to a report from Crytpo Coins News shut down their web server and ran off with $12 million in user bitcoins...

I’ll be around around for a short period of time before permanently moving to the caribbeans, I hope you guys understand.

Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-19/bitcoin-scammers-run-12-million-%E2%80%9Cgoing-caribbean%E2%80%A6-hope-you-guys-understand%E2%80%9D

Wow, I didn't know about these. They are disgraceful, I don't know if you believe in such things but I do believe in Karma and people like these always get their comeuppance. Good luck with your venture, you'll never have shortage of content. If you do, just take a gander at "Investor-based games", it's a new playground for scammers.

[Vhawk23]

I suggest you to add a main page, then in it there are some folders that hold different sites (potential, scam, already down, paying, etc.)

So, it'll make us easy to read the wiki

[Bizmark13]

Just an update:

The site will be down for a few days while I do some cleaning up. I neglected to add a captcha and so the site got hit by spambots. This was pretty surprising for me since I wasn't expecting spammers to target a site so small. I tried deleting all of the accounts and pages that they set up but it's probably best to start over while we still have the chance. All pages have been backed up, but all user accounts will be deleted. This shouldn't be a huge problem since nobody other than me has made any contributions yet.

I suggest you to add a main page, then in it there are some folders that hold different sites (potential, scam, already down, paying, etc.)

So, it'll make us easy to read the wiki

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely rewrite the main page soon.

[gogxmagog]

I just found this thread and see you are down for maintenance  
Too bad cuz I like this idea! I'm hoping it is full of hyperlinks regarding type of scam and how these scams operate. You might even find existing wikis to link to ( or maybe you want all OC?) either way I am looking forward to seeing and possibly contributing. I've been burned badly over the last year or so thanks to various scumbags in the securities section  There are actions ongoing regarding a few of these guys, so I don't know your policy regarding bullshit securities offerings that haven't been tried in court yet. It could put a risk of liable or get you a "cease & desist" order, no? Maybe get your server in trouble?
How are you proposing to deal with that anyway? Like some secure drop box? IDK, just asking.
Excited to see this wiki up n runnin though, keep up the good work

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

Added the article for Inputs.io. It was a bit rushed but I'll try and clean it up a bit later. Personally, I feel it might not belong in this wiki since the general consensus seems to be that TradeFortress was actually hacked and had no malicious intent but unfortunately, WikiHacks.org was already taken:

http://www.wikiscams.org/index.php?title=Inputs.io

I might add a subdomain (e.g. hacks.wikiscams.org) instead and move content like this there since I'm probably being a bit unfair to TF right now by putting his site next to ones like Stackcoin.

Thank you for being fair with the coverage.