How to Keep Payment Fraud from Jeopardizing the Legitimacy of Blockchain

A stunning 10% of all ICO proceeds wind up getting diverted to scammers.

These scammers set up websites or social media profiles pretending to be the legitimate ICO provider, then disappear after selling fake "Tokens" that never show up.

Scammers managed to obtain a list of emails belonging to potential investors who had already made initial contact with Bee Token, which made the scammers' emails seem especially legitimate.

"Telegram's recent blockbuster token sale raised $1.7 billion from private investors, but the company has made no public mention of a possible public sale. Scammers saw an opportunity and a rash of websites offering fake Telegram tokens to the public emerged, forcing Telegram founder Pavel Durov to warn followers on Twitter."

Another fake #facebook SCAM Ad for Telegram ICO $TON. There is NO ICO yet! You will lose your money! GRAMTOKEN.IO is fake! #crypto #altcoins #telegram #ico pic.

Just as in the cash checking and "Nigerian Prince" scams that came before them, the scammers never actually make the promised second distribution.

A scammer who claimed the Twitter handle "Elonmmusk" used the social media platform to impersonate Musk and offer a "Giveaway" of 5,000 ETH. A network of bots promoted the tweet, giving it the appearance of groundswell support from enthused giveaway recipients.

Vertcoin Lead Developer had to take to Twitter much like many crypto founders and leaders before him to clarify that the giveaway was a scam.

This platform is continuously scanning the crypto community and the Ethereum blockchain to detect phishing scams and other fraudulent activities.

The false URL would appear virtually the same as the first, and smart scammers could have designed the fake website to contain the same branding and design as the legitimate ICO. This scam could fool even experienced crypto traders.