Worldcoin, the digital identity startup co-founded by Sam Altman, faced significant issues in Berlin earlier this year as scammers exploited its eyeball-scanning stations, recruiting homeless people and refugees to claim cryptocurrency rewards.
In exchange for having their eyes scanned, recruits were paid by hustlers, with some groups potentially earning nearly $700,000. This led to frequent fights at the scanning sites and concerns over the integrity of the system.
Worldcoin's token (WLD) surged earlier this year but has since plunged 85% in value. The company is now implementing new security measures, such as facial recognition, but struggles with waning customer interest and ongoing regulatory scrutiny regarding data privacy and fraud prevention.
