Main Takeaways
Fake token attacks represent a widespread type of cryptocurrency scams where criminals create fraudulent tokens that mimic legitimate cryptocurrencies, using them to steal users’ money or sensitive data.
This type of attack generally uses communication tools such as Telegram, WhatsApp or WeChat to spread misinformation. A common tactic is running token “pre-sales,” attracting victims with the promise of a much higher future “listing price” compared to the current “pre-sale price.”
In most cases, the losses of digital assets are irreversible. Binance encourages users to constantly learn to protect themselves, staying vigilant and aware of common threats.
A fake token attack is a type of cryptocurrency scam where malicious actors create counterfeit or fraudulent tokens that mimic legitimate cryptocurrencies. These fake tokens are designed to deceive investors and traders into believing they are purchasing or trading a genuine asset, often leading to financial losses or other negative consequences such as identity theft.
How Scammers Use Fake Tokens
Real tokens and fake ones mimicking them can exist on the same blockchain but with different smart contract addresses, or on different blockchains. Fake tokens can be used in a variety of fraudulent schemes.
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Token Sales:
Attackers may launch fake ICOs or token sales, enticing investors with the promise of getting in early on a groundbreaking project. Once they collect funds, they disappear, leaving investors with worthless tokens.
Airdrops and Giveaways:
Fake tokens are sometimes distributed through airdrops or giveaways, where users are asked to provide personal information or pay a small fee to receive the tokens. This can lead to further scams or identity theft.
Pump and Dump Schemes:
Scammers may artificially inflate the price of a fake token through coordinated buying (pump) and then sell off their holdings at the peak (dump), leaving other investors with devalued assets on their hands.
Launchpool Token Scams:
The schemes described above can be complicated and costly to pull off, so scammers can choose to resort to lower-cost attacks, such as those using fake Launchpool tokens attacks. In this type of scams, criminals capitalize on the publicity that the promotion and dissemination of an asset by a reputable exchange creates, claiming, for example, that they can offer such tokens at a discount through unofficial channels that are not associated with the platforms like Binance that do the original promotion.
