How Does a Twitter Crypto Scam Work?

If you’ve ever been on crypto Twitter, sent a tweet involving cryptocurrency of any kind, or posted a link involving Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, or any of the other cryptos, you’ve probably received a scam reply or post in your inbox your .

You’ve probably wondered, “How does this Twitter encryption scam work?”

Well, wonder no more as we walk you through how one of the most common crypto scams on Twitter works from start to finish.

What is a Crypto Twitter Scam?

Numerous cryptocurrency scams are floating around on Twitter. They vary in complexity, but the most common are usually low-level scams that can be pumped out in volume, hoping to catch at least one or two people daily. And in the volume you see them versus the number of Twitter users, they’re probably working to some degree.

A few common Twitter encryption scams include:

• Impersonate verified accounts, such as crypto thought leaders, project managers, developers, popular projects, and so on.
• Honeypot scams promise unimaginable rewards for performing basic tasks, but the user must deposit crypto first.
• Crypto Scam: You’ve Won a Big Prize on an Exchange You’ve Never Heard of!
• Fake airdrops for non-existent tokens, phishing links, hoax websites and landing pages, and so on.

Other cryptocurrency scams exist on Twitter, no doubt. However, these are the three you will encounter the most, as they are usually the easiest to obtain.

How Does a Crypto Twitter Scam Work?

If these scams are so well known, how do the scammers pull them off?

It’s a good question and one that I followed closely after recently receiving a flurry of scam messages in my Twitter inbox. The following details how crypto giveaway scams work in full.

1. You receive a scam message in your Twitter inbox

First, you will receive a message in your inbox informing you that you have won an amount of cryptocurrency. Scammers usually use popular and valuable cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum instead of something more obscure that might not capture the target’s interest.

In this case, would you believe it? I’ve been lucky and won 0.51 BTC, which is around $10,000 at the time of writing. Bonanza!

2. You go to the exchange to redeem your code

You’ll notice in the previous screenshot that I also received a code. You include the code for the crypto exchange in the message, create an account and redeem your code. Once redeemed, the exchange will deposit the specified amount directly into your account.

Now, not knowing exactly what ugliness might await this perfectly legitimate crypto exchange, I conducted the rest of this process in a secure virtual machine, just in case, using a temporary email address, fake information, and so on.

The crypto exchange looks pretty legit, and it’s easy to see why scams like this draw people in. As you can see in the screenshots below, entering the referral program code sent via Twitter results in just under 0.51 Bitcoin appearing in my account.

3. You attempt to withdraw your crypto

With the Bitcoin now in your account, you can try withdrawing it to a separate Bitcoin wallet. After all, who keeps their Bitcoin on an exchange?

First of all, this crypto exchange asks you to confirm your email address. Since this is a scam site, it’s more of a procedural process to trick you into believing it’s real, rather than something required for the withdrawal to work. But if you’re using a real email address, that’s another piece of information to look out for another scam.

Then go ahead and enter your Bitcoin wallet information and the status will change to Awaiting. So far, so good – you just have to wait a little while for the withdrawal to be confirmed. Now this alone should make you realize that the exchange you are dealing with is not quite right. Crypto exchanges will usually process transactions instantly, not asking you to wait for an administrator to confirm.

4. Fraud: Please deposit Bitcoin to confirm your withdrawal

Now this is where the scam really takes place. Your pending Bitcoin withdrawal switches to failed, and the only way to solve the problem is to deposit 0.02 BTC or 0.3 ETH. Depositing the required amount of crypto will verify your account and enable the site admin to verify your withdrawal (it won’t).

As you can probably guess, once you send Bitcoin or Ethereum to the crypto exchange, you will never see it again and the Twitter scam is complete.

Remember, always use a reputable crypto exchange to trade cryptocurrency.

5. Optional fraud: You provide your personal information

On this particular fake crypto exchange, there was also an option to enter your personal information to verify your account.

The information requested varied, but could have been a photo of your driver’s license, passport, social security number, etc. Once uploaded, you do not know how this private information will be used, but you can probably guess that it will not be beneficial to you.

How to spot crypto scams on Twitter

Although many types of crypto scams float around on Twitter, luckily most of us will only encounter the most obvious versions. That is, unless you pack in some serious funds, have a large Twitter following, or the like, you’re unlikely to be the specific target of a scam and will only encounter what’s being spammed across the network.

This is a good thing. It makes it easier to spot the majority of crypto scams that will come your way.

1. It’s too good to be true. Why would someone send you a huge amount of Bitcoin or Ethereum without warning?
2. You have never participated in a competition. How did you win a contest prize from a website you’ve never heard of?
3. The site is fictitious or barely known. The site contacting you has zero followers, it’s an unknown exchange, and so on.
4. The Twitter account is brand new. The account contacting you was created yesterday and has three followers, but still goes ahead to offer you tons of crypto.
5. The Twitter account pretends to be someone else. Scammers often use accounts that are mocked to look like someone famous. Alternatively, the account can impersonate Twitter support or a support account from a crypto exchange.
6. It’s a stolen account. If it is not mocked to look like someone famous or recognized, the account can be stolen and used to scam people.

These are not the only ways to detect crypto scam accounts on Twitter, but it covers the majority.

Watch out for crypto scams on Twitter

Spotting crypto scams on Twitter doesn’t have to be challenging. Often, scammers make themselves known easily, offering stiff Bitcoin payments for fictitious contests on crypto exchanges you’ve never heard of.

Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.