Dec 27, 2021 06:00:00

A scam that says 'Amazon will issue a new cryptocurrency' is rampant

As many people focus on cryptocurrencies and NFTs as new investment targets,

scams that take advantage of trends are also becoming more active. Avast Software, which develops antivirus software, explains on the official blog the method of 'a scam that Amazon issues a new virtual currency'.

Beware of a New Amazon Token Crypto Scam
https://blog.avast.com/beware-of-a-new-amazon-token-crypto-scam

In July 2021, the information requesting 'a product leader of digital currencies and blockchains' was posted on Amazon's recruitment information page, so rumors emerged that 'Amazon may enter the virtual currency market'. Did. At the time of writing, Amazon hasn't issued any new cryptocurrencies, tokens, etc., but Avast warns that scammers are taking advantage of this rumor to hoist cryptocurrencies from victims.

It turns out that Amazon is looking for crypto assets and blockchain experts, will it introduce crypto assets as a payment method-GIGAZINE

According to Avast, scammers will pretend to be a well-known news site and post fraudulent advertisements claiming that 'Amazon will sell new'Amazon tokens'' to guide scammed users to the scam site. Here are some examples of malicious ads discovered by Avast, which are difficult to distinguish from legitimate ads at first glance. Avast research shows that these fraudulent ads are rampant around the world, including the Americas, Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Scammers take advantage of users' trust in the Amazon brand and their desire to keep up

with the promising cryptocurrency Initial Coin Offering (ICO). ICO is a fund raising by issuing new virtual currency, and if you can participate early, you can buy new virtual currency at a low price and sell it by taking advantage of the rapid price increase immediately after ICO.

When a user clicks on a malicious ad, they are redirected to a website that promotes Amazon tokens, such as: The scammers have elaborated the website so that it cannot be detected as a scam.

Services that link Amazon tokens with free Amazon Prime memberships ...

By appealing services linked to Prime Gaming , Amazon tokens that do not actually exist are made to look like the real thing.

When a user decides to buy an Amazon token, a countdown will start to expedite the purchase as follows: Here, too, a classic scam that takes victims time to consider carefully by setting a time limit for purchases is used.

When a user creates a dedicated account using email or password, a dashboard that looks like they can buy and manage Amazon tokens is opened. Of course, there are no Amazon tokens, so this dashboard can't really manage anything ...

It is only possible to send cryptocurrencies to purchase Amazon tokens. Even if the victim sends cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to buy Amazon tokens, the Amazon tokens are not actually given and the scammers take away the cryptocurrencies. Avast also points out that the email and password combination used to open an account could be used for other crimes.

To protect yourself from such fraud, Avast 'becomes skeptical of ads and social media posts related to cryptocurrencies' 'Before entering information and purchasing cryptocurrencies, check the URL and website carefully 'Do' 'Do not lose the tactics that rush to make decisions such as' Time sale ',' Only a few ',' Buy now '' 'Search the details of what you are trying to buy and find the official information source' 'Seen on the web and SNS' 'Report fraudulent advertisements'.

According to Avast, about 300 Avast users were protected from Amazon token scams in the first week of December 2021 alone.