Ethereum 2.0: Top 5 most common scams

While the “The Merge” date of September 19 is constantly postponed, scammers are drawn to the Ethereum network merger as well. Crooks who view this important event as a chance to make a lot of money. Because we are in fact discussing one of the most significant occasions in the development of digital assets. We’ll discuss the most typical scam efforts in this piece that are expected to surface during the coming weeks. The purpose? Prevent as many users from falling into sometimes-well-oiled traps as you can.

1- Phishing

Phishing is a scam method that is as old as the world and is still used frequently today. In more concrete terms, it frequently entails sending customers fake communications and leading them to assume that it is an official letter. Phishing often involves sending an email that sends recipients to a bogus website. A phony website is frequently made to look exactly like the official one. The con artist can then use his mirror website to recover your personal information using this method. This could be the identifiers to link to your wallet in the context of digital assets.

Phishing fraud efforts are expected to increase with The Merge. Although some phishing attempts are vulgar and obvious, this is not always the case. Some con artists spend a lot of time developing increasingly sophisticated techniques in an effort to increase their “success rate.”

Our suggestion on avoiding this kind of con:

Never open a link without first looking at the sending address. This also contains download-only applications or attachments.
Never divulge your passwords, personal information, or seed phrase.
Delete messages from dubious or unfamiliar senders.

2 – Fraudulent mining pools

The transition of the Ethereum blockchain from a Proof of Work protocol to a Proof of Stake protocol must be made possible through the merger, often known as “The merge.” Which implies that validators will someday take the role of miners. A system that will significantly reduce the Ethereum blockchain’s ecological footprint (by more than 99%).

Some con artists might be tempted to try to trick customers into signing up for a mining pool while they wait for the merger to happen. Other digital assets have already fallen victim to this swindle. The con artist will ask his victim to contribute money to join a pool in a very specific manner. The user, who is frequently dubious, will submit by making a tiny payment. However, the trap only closes once it is realized that benefits, often big ones, can be made. These earnings are, in fact, fictitious, and they simply exist to persuade the user to contribute more money. After that, fraudsters won’t contact you ever again.

Our suggestion on avoiding this kind of con:

Always research the deals that mining pools are offering.
Recognize the operation of mining pools and terms like staking or mining.
Avoid APY promises that seem too good to be true.

3- Airdrops

An airdrop offers the potential for a con artist to try to con his neighbor. A token donation is exactly what an airdrop is. When they are informed that they have won something, many users occasionally let their guard down. And the correct course of action is to do the exact opposite. In general, an airdrop makes it feasible to reward platform users, token or NFT holders, or both.

Scammers may frequently try to claim tokens from an airdrop by sending tokens to your wallet and asking you to approve the transaction. The user falls into the trap when they approve the transaction. Since you might possibly hand over control of your wallet by approving. The con artists will then enjoy themselves immensely by emptying your wallet.

Our suggestion on avoiding this kind of con:

Be aware that, based on information from the Ethereum Foundation, there is no airdrop for ETH 2.0.
In general, avoid adding new tokens to your wallet if there is no apparent use for them.

4- ETH 2.0 Tokens

In the same way that The Merge won’t be the topic of an airdrop, the switch from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake won’t produce any additional tokens either. Such fraud is already becoming more prevalent. Scammers try to convince victims that they must exchange their current ETH tokens for ETH 2.0 tokens. In actuality, this is blatantly false, and the trick is wiring coins to the con artist’s wallet.

These bogus ETH 2.0 tokens, however, should not be confused with any ETH derivatives that might be present. So, for example, we can find stETH on the Lido platform or other completely valid names on the Coinbase or Binance platforms.

Our suggestion on avoiding this kind of con:

Recognize that there are no additional ETH 2.0 tokens available

5- False customer service

Some scammers are also active on social media. Numerous crypto novices who frequently have little expertise are victims of these schemes. Similar to hammeconage, fake customer service employs the similar tactic of pretending to be a trustworthy organization.

We occasionally observe the growth of Twitter accounts or Telegram groups using names like “Ethereum Support” to show their legitimacy. It is a fraud attempt when these accounts ask you for details like your private key, seed phrase, or any password. Some may even request remote access to your machine.

Our suggestion on avoiding this kind of con:

1. Never share your private key, seed phrase, or personal information with anybody.
2. Do not grant a stranger remote access to your computer.
3. In the event of a doubt, determine the legitimacy of your interlocutor.

Conclusion

While there are many cryptophiles in the cryptocurrency community, there are also a fair number of newcomers thanks to the democratization of digital assets. Neophytes are more likely to fall victim to fraud than the knowledgeable populace. Knowledge and mastery of your subject will always remain your finest assets if you want to avoid crypto frauds as much as possible, whether on the Ethereum blockchain or elsewhere.