Many of you probably remember how Bee Token got stung by a $1 million phishing scam. Even despite warnings from the team, eager would-be investors fell for a trap where attackers used phishing emails to convince them to send Ethereum to their address.
What made things confusing for rookie ICO investors is that the scammers coordinated their activities right alongside the start of Bee Token’s sale.
This is just one of many stories about scams during ICOs.
So, for those planning to participate in the NYCREC, not only will we continuously provide tips and warnings about how to avoid scams through social media channels, such as Telegram and Twitter, we’ve also put together this guide.
Read on to learn how to avoid scams during the NYCREC.
Scam #1: Admin & team member impersonators
Vitalik Buterin — yes, the mastermind behind Ethereum — has plenty of impersonators. It comes with the fame.
But did you know that a fake Vitalik Buterin account on Twitter scammed more than $20,000 in Ethereum from users during March 2018? They fell for the scam, believing they were participating in an Ethereum giveaway. They were asked to give a small amount of ETH in exchange for lots of ETH.
No wonder searching for ‘fake Vitalik Buterin account’ yields so many results on Google:
Here’s a piece of advice if something similar happens to you: Always exercise caution when this happens. Our team members won’t message you directly for security reasons unless you’ve approved us to do so via private email.
Unfortunately, social media channels are great but imperfect platforms. They allow for great communities to be built and for people to ask questions and discuss the project directly with the team. However, given their open nature, they’re susceptible to scammers.
When a seemingly familiar admin messages you, it’s important to keep in mind what the pinned message on the NYCREC Telegram group states:
“NYCREC will NEVER solicit payments via Telegram. Our admins and team members will NEVER directly message you asking to send ETH or another cryptocurrency to an address.”
We won’t do that on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, either. By never, we mean never! We value your security greatly.
Even if there’s an issue with the site or unexpected delay during the sale, we won’t message you on social media discussing alternative ways to contribute. That’s a common scam fraudsters try to employ when such a situation arises.
If we experience any technical issues or have to delay or pause the sale for any reason, look for an official announcement on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and our Telegram announcements channel. Most likely, as we troubleshoot the issue or deal with something else unexpected, we’ll pause the sale. Stay tuned to those official channels for updates.
Scam #2: Spamming links in Telegram and other social media
There are countless tactics that scammers can employ to get people to send money. There’s even a ‘how-to scam people during an ICO’ guide on Medium (which is meant to raise awareness about ICO scams).
Here are the various types of scammers you’ll encounter (most will be impersonating an admin):
A. The ‘helpful’ scammer offering discounts and/or early access
If it sounds too good to be true…that’s because it is. The discounts during our token sale (both presale and public sale) are clearly listed in this article. These fraudsters want you to send money to their wallet. And they won’t give you anything in return.
B. The ‘team support’ scammer making official announcements
These attackers usually come around during the presale and public sale, when the channel is busy and comments are moving at a fast pace. Their displayed names will be the same as an admin and the picture will include the project logo or even a team member’s profile image. Their announcements will provide links to phishing sites where you’ll be asked to send ETH or other cryptocurrencies to a fake address.
C. The ‘engaged member’ who asks good questions (but has bad intentions)
These fraudsters are tough to catch. What they’ll do is ask a question that’s helpful for the community. Usually, these are questions that can be answered by the admin with a simple yes or no. For example, they may ask, “Is nycrec.io the official site and where I can contribute to the sale?” The admin will say yes. Then, perhaps a few minutes later or hours later, they’ll change their question and replace the correct website link with a link to a phishing site.
Morale of the story: always double check links to make sure they’re correct.
What to do if you spot (or think you spotted) a scammer
So, if you have a member from the NYCREC core team, like Charles Wyman, Co-Founder, or Neil Benedict, Chief Blockchain Officer, message you without you directly messaging them first, know it could be a scammer.
To double check, do the following:
- Check the username of the supposed admin or team member: Many times, scammers will add a number, period, hyphen or other small characters, such as ‘1’, ‘.’ or ‘-’. And that’s the only difference between their username and a team member’s username. It’s easy to overlook if you don’t check carefully and also confirm with the admin usernames in the Telegram group.
Note: Some may add terms such as, “Team Support” or “Admin” directly to their displayed name. Only trust those with the official Telegram admin tags (which aren’t a part of the name).
- Check the usernames of the real admins in the official Telegram group: You can see a list of admin usernames in the pinned message on our official Telegram group. Also, when admins post in Telegram, you’ll see an admin tag on the top right of the text box. Admins also have a star next to their name in the members list. Click on their names to see their username, which begins with an @.
- Immediately notify us in the Telegram group about the scammer: If the so-called admin asks you to send ETH, it’s a scam. Take down their username and notify the group or an admin directly (get their correct username from the members list). We’ll ban them immediately and report them to Telegram as a scammer/spammer (hopefully, they haven’t changed their username by then).
Tips to protect yourself from becoming a target
First, and foremost, always read over the pinned message. Understand that NEVER, under any circumstance, will admins or team members send you a message requesting you send ETH and other cryptocurrencies to an address.
Second, while we certainly know there will be many first-time ICO investors (that’s why we have a guide on using MyEtherWallet and participating in the token sale), please don’t announce to the community that you’re ‘new to the game’.
Feel free to ask any questions in the group and the admins will gladly assist you. If you want assistance personally, see the pinned message to find a real admin username and directly message them if you need help with anything. Again, make sure it’s the correct username and realize we won’t ask you to send funds to an ETH address or another cryptocurrency wallet.
Third, always check website addresses and social media handles to make sure you’re in the right place (more on phishing below). There could be any number of sites and social channels that mimic the official page and even have the same design and content. Be careful.
Finally, use common sense and err on the side of caution. If the situation seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Don’t jump in the water — even if you a phisher tempts you!
Even EOS, the record-setting ICO, got hit by phishing attacks. Some incredibly legit emails were blasted out to tens of thousands of people.
And it’s not just fake emails that you’ll see. Fake websites, fake Twitter pages, fake Facebook pages, and more do occur. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility.
Please take note of our official website page and social media channels. Always double check to make sure you’re on the official page and always double check links.
Here’s a list of NYCREC channels, the website, and email for your convenience:
- Website: https://nycrec.io/
- Telegram Announcements Channel: https://t.me/nycrec_announcements
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NYCRECoin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NYCRECoin/
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/NYCREC/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nycrec/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUJ-P8lvj5oWHHcjxIIt_A
- Email: info@nycrec.io and team@nycrec.io (all official emails will be @nycrec.io)
In short, don’t go fishing after a phishing scam! Scammers will take the money and run.
Staying away from scams and participating in the STO successfully
Fraudsters love to prey on newbies because they haven’t seen the scam tactics they use before.
So let this article serve as your guide for avoiding scams during the NYCREC STO. As always, if you need assistance or have concerns, send a message in the Telegram group. Our admins and team members are on there 24/7 and ready to help at a moment’s notice.
During the NYCREC STO, we’ll be providing a wealth of information about participating in the sale and how to do so safely and successfully. Stay tuned to our official Telegram group, Telegram announcements channel, Twitter, and Facebook to stay up to date.
Thank you for your support in the project and we look forward to building the NYCREC platform with you.
