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This week we’ve identified two confirmed fake crypto websites that were impersonating legitimate platforms. Links to both dangerous sites were being spread via enticing phishing text messages. If you’re interested in investing in crypto, keep reading to understand how these scams operate and learn how to safeguard yourself.
Gemini is a 100% legitimate crypto investment platform. However, scammers were recently misusing its name to try to trick people into inadvertently parting with their personal/financial data.
As part of this Gemini claims scam, scammers sent would-be victims phishing text messages, hoping to entice them into visiting the malicious website yourgeminiclaims[.]net. A screenshot of the scam website — which has since been taken down — is below.
YourGeminiClaims scam website
After a Reddit user made a post about receiving a text message containing a link to yourgeminiclaims[.]net on the official Gemini subreddit, a Gemini employee commented, confirming that the message and website are not to be trusted.
Scam confirmation. Source
KuCoin is another legitimate crypto platform that has had its name recently misused by scammers — in a scam identical to the one above.
Below is an example of what the phishing text message scammers were sending people looked like.
Fortunately, the fake crypto site linked in the phishing message — kucoinclaims[.]com — is no longer online.
This KuCoin text message was confirmed as a scam in a post made by the official KuCoin account on the platform’s subreddit.
KuCoin claims scam: Confirmed. Source
With yourgeminiclaims[.]net and kucoinclaims[.]com being confirmed scam sites, any money deposited on them will go straight into the scammers’ pockets. However, they’re not just after your money — they want your personal info, too. If you were to enter your personal info on either side, it could potentially end up being sold to cybercriminals/hackers on the dark web and/or used by scammers to commit further crimes.
The truth is, there are lots of phishing scams and scam websites out there and they’re getting even more difficult to detect with common sense alone. For an easy and reliable method of detecting and avoiding scams, check out our free browser extension (Trend Micro ID Protection) and free mobile app (Trend Micro Check).
Together, ID Protection and Trend Micro Check can shield you from scams, phishing links, dangerous websites, and lots more! Check out both today — for free!
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This article is published in collaboration with Trend Micro
