The Dogecoin scam is one more example of online fraud, which became enormously popular last time. This way of money theft is always in active use. However, during the last two months swindlers have shown an incredible activity boost. In this post, I will show you the scheme used by the Dogecoin scam, and also explain why that fraud may reach not only your money, but also your identity.
What is Dogecoin scam?
This fraud is advertised massively through different sources. You can see the messages where the “Dogecoin Giveaway” is promoted on Facebook, on Twitter, or even on the banners on different web pages. Yes, it is disguised as a giveaway, initiated by Elon Musk. A lot of people trust these claims, since Mr. Musk was way too active while promoting Dogecoin on Twitter.
The messages which contain a Dogecoin scam promotion consist of a text which provokes you to act, and a link to the website (musk-in.com). This site contains a very dubious note (you can see it in this article), where you are offered to double the amount of your DOGE. As the site says, the amount of this giveaway is restricted to 100 million Dogecoins. Moreover, they also promise that users who send the coins for the first time, will get a 10% bonus.
To take part in this generous action, you just need to fill a short form on the website. Name, surname, phone number and email address are the things you need to specify. Then, you can transfer the coins and wait for a 100% return. Maybe, in future.
What has just happened?
You have been fooled on at least $300 (cost of 5000 Dogecoins). A lot of users who were trapped by that fraud decided to risk the minimal amount of money, and did it right. Some people sent much more money – about $1000-$3000. But as I have mentioned in the first paragraph, not only your wallet is under attack.
The personal information you specified is transferring to the server, maintained by fraudsters. Such a pack of information is a very valuable thing. Name, surname and email are enough to make the advertising campaign of your new product. Databases with such information may be sold through the legal channels, as well as in the darknet, if the buyer is the same scam.
The Dogecoin scam website appears again and again, what can I do?
If you see this scam as an obtrusive banner, which is opened in a separate browser page, I have bad news for you. In the majority of cases, such a situation is a clear sign of malware presence. But don’t worry – usually, such actions are done by adware – a specific type of virus which can show you these promotions. This sort of malware deals no direct damage to your computer. However, it may show you a banner which contains a malicious link. After clickin on such a promotion, your PC may be infected with another virus.
