Fake Charlie Lee Tries to Scam People on Twitter

Tuesday, 30/01/2018 | 12:52 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • Many users reported the account, but it is still active.
Fake Charlie Lee Tries to Scam People on Twitter
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As the value of Cryptocurrencies rises, more and more scammers are trying to dupe people. Recently, someone faked Litecoin creator Charlie Lee’s Twitter account and launched a fraudulent scheme in which he claimed to be giving away 180 LTC.

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The individual is asking people to make a transaction of 0.3 LTC to a specified wallet address, and in return the first 60 people to make the transaction will receive 3 LTC each.

https://twitter.com/SatoshiLitez/status/958105886358204417

The scheme was posted in various cryptocurrency communities, but Twitter users were quick enough to point out the scam, calling it out and requesting that Twitter ban the account.

The fake account copied almost every aspect of Charlee Lee’s account except the username, to which it added a ‘z’ (@SatoshiLite/@SatoshiLitez). The scamster is even retweeting Charlee Lee’s recent posts in order to look authentic.

The model of this scam is a classic one and is tried by various fraudsters, and surprisingly, it works really well. Many people will make these small transactions in their greed to gain more coins. Luckily, there have been no victims of this particular scam yet.

A similar attempt was once made with Vitalik Buterin’s Twitter account, offering Ethereum instead of Litecoin.

From classic phishing tactics to faking ICOs, scammers are trying everything they can to scam cryptocurrency investors. Though fake public accounts can be easily identified, novice cryptocurrency investors often become victims.

The cryptocurrency market is very vulnerable to scams and cyber attacks, and ICOs in particular. In a recent study, Ernst and Young found that more than $400 million were either lost or stolen from ICOs. Scammers are so active that within a day of the rumors of the Telegram ICO appearing, several fake token pre-sale websites were launched.

As the value of Cryptocurrencies rises, more and more scammers are trying to dupe people. Recently, someone faked Litecoin creator Charlie Lee’s Twitter account and launched a fraudulent scheme in which he claimed to be giving away 180 LTC.

Discover credible partners and premium clients at China’s leading finance event!

The individual is asking people to make a transaction of 0.3 LTC to a specified wallet address, and in return the first 60 people to make the transaction will receive 3 LTC each.

https://twitter.com/SatoshiLitez/status/958105886358204417

The scheme was posted in various cryptocurrency communities, but Twitter users were quick enough to point out the scam, calling it out and requesting that Twitter ban the account.

The fake account copied almost every aspect of Charlee Lee’s account except the username, to which it added a ‘z’ (@SatoshiLite/@SatoshiLitez). The scamster is even retweeting Charlee Lee’s recent posts in order to look authentic.

The model of this scam is a classic one and is tried by various fraudsters, and surprisingly, it works really well. Many people will make these small transactions in their greed to gain more coins. Luckily, there have been no victims of this particular scam yet.

A similar attempt was once made with Vitalik Buterin’s Twitter account, offering Ethereum instead of Litecoin.

From classic phishing tactics to faking ICOs, scammers are trying everything they can to scam cryptocurrency investors. Though fake public accounts can be easily identified, novice cryptocurrency investors often become victims.

The cryptocurrency market is very vulnerable to scams and cyber attacks, and ICOs in particular. In a recent study, Ernst and Young found that more than $400 million were either lost or stolen from ICOs. Scammers are so active that within a day of the rumors of the Telegram ICO appearing, several fake token pre-sale websites were launched.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
  • 6654 Articles
  • 102 Followers
About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.
  • 6654 Articles
  • 102 Followers

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