Stay Wary: How Scammers Trap Victims in Fake Deposit Schemes and EOS Testnet Scams
In recent times, there has been a surge in scam reports, with victims being lured into fraudulent schemes, particularly involving fake deposit accounts on well-known cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX, as well as EOS testnet activities. Here's a detailed breakdown of how these scams unfold, so you can recognize and avoid becoming a victim.
How the Scam Works: Fake Deposit Accounts and Promotions
Scammers typically start by impersonating official crypto entities, such as public figures, crypto exchanges, or EOS services. They send out private messages promising easy money, often targeting crypto community chats and groups. These messages usually sound too good to be true, and they are designed to exploit greed or a desire for quick profits. Here are some examples of common approaches:
Common Scammer Messages:
"Hi, I found you in a crypto group! I have a working circuit for binary trading. Interested?"
"Bybit/Binance/OKX has a promotion running. Send X amount of tokens to this EOS account, and you'll get your deposit plus interest back instantly!"
These messages may also mention crypto arbitrage opportunities, promising risk-free profits of 2-3% per transaction without transferring your funds to an unfamiliar platform. These offers can seem particularly tempting, but they are scams designed to steal your money.
The Deceptive Process: How Scammers Convince Victims
Once the victim shows interest, the scammer provides further details about how the supposed scheme works. Here's the typical scam process:
The Initial Bait: The scammer claims that they have discovered a loophole in Binance/Bybit/OKX’s system. They tell the victim that whenever money is deposited into a particular EOS account, the exchange automatically adds a small percentage (1-3%) to the balance. To make this convincing, they may share screenshots showing supposed Binance deposits where they allegedly earned extra returns through this trick.
The Fake Account Setup: Sometimes, scammers instruct the victim to rename their Exchange account (nickname) with a 12-character username. They then create an EOS account with the exact same name to deceive the victim into thinking they are depositing funds into their Exchange account. But obviously that is not how EOS works. You can't send funds to a "Exchange accounts nickname". You only can send funds to EOS Accounts. And that EOS account which has the same name like the nickname of the victims exchange account is controlled entirely by the scammer.
A Small Test Transfer: To gain the victim's trust, the scammer suggests sending a small amount (e.g., 5 EOS) to the nickname or a fake deposit address (e.g., "eosndbinance", "bybitmainnet" or "testnet25eos"). They may then "prove" the system works by returning the funds, slightly increased (e.g., sending back 5.15 EOS), to the victim's legitimate deposit address.
The Big Theft: After gaining the victim's confidence through this small transaction, the scammer pushes for a larger transfer. The victim, thinking the system works, sends a more significant sum (e.g., 479.5 EOS). But this time, the scammer doesn't return the funds - they steal it and put it in their own account.
The green box shows the transaction where the scammer returned the money, and the red box shows that the scammer stole the money and transferred it to his account.
Testnet and Airdrop Scams: Another Variant
Another variant of the scam involves EOS testnet activities or fake airdrops. In these cases, scammers invite users to participate in a "network test" or airdrop that promises high returns. Here’s how it unfolds:
The Invitation: Victims receive messages inviting them to participate in a network test designed to simulate high-volume transactions. The scammer claims that users must send a certain amount of EOS to be eligible.
The Trick: Once the victim sends the initial amount, the scammer responds with a fabricated excuse, such as "The amount you transferred was not enough to create enough blocks." They then ask the victim to send more tokens to complete the transaction.
Scammers Use Excuses to Steal More Funds
In some cases, scammers go beyond just stealing the first big deposit. They may claim the transaction is "stuck" (or is in Anti Money Laundering AML process) or that there was an issue with the system. To fix the problem, they demand additional or the same amount of tokens to be sent to "release" the funds. The scam continues as long as the victim believes these excuses and keeps sending more money.
Impersonating Legitimate EOS Support Services
Scammers often take their schemes a step further by impersonating legitimate services like EOS support on social media or even with fake websites. Victims report being misled by websites posing as official EOS resources, such as:
eos-network.io
eos-support.com
These sites are fraudulent, and victims are tricked into sending funds under the pretense of receiving support or assistance.
Please be careful and remember: The only free cheese is in a mousetrap!
I got scammed, what can I do?
If someone claims your funds are “stuck” or “not returned” despite having a transaction ID, it’s likely a scam. The transaction ID confirms a successful transfer.
If you’re asked to send more funds to “release” your existing funds, do not comply - this is a common tactic to steal more from you.
EOS Support only operates through eossupport.io. Anyone claiming to be EOS support outside this domain is a scammer.
Beware of scams involving fake staking, arbitrage, or rewards schemes requiring you to send funds to an EOS address.
For more details on how these scams work, read this article.
EOS Support cannot reverse transactions or freeze funds. Nevertheless, we like to collect all EOS accounts that are involved in scams. You can report them here.
If scammed, report it to law enforcement immediately and monitor the scammer’s account. If you see funds moving to an exchange, contact the exchange with a police report to potentially freeze the funds, but act quickly as the chances of recovery are low.
Explore more scam prevention articles in our EOS Support Wiki.
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List of EOS Accounts that are most likely accounts from scammers (reported from scammed EOS users), be careful to send tokens to these accounts!
Fake promotion EOS Accounts reported by scammed EOS users:
Fake promotion EOS Accounts mimicing exchange accounts reported by scammed EOS users:
-> Not reported by a user, but accounts look similar and could be scams:
Fake promotion or testnet EOS Accounts mimicing EOS public accounts reported by scammed EOS users:
Fake system EOS Accounts which seem to be involved in these scams reported by scammed EOS users:
More EOS Accounts that are involved in scams reported by scammed EOS users:
eosrewarders
eoswithdrawa
dropmemodefi
eosbybit.io
trcnetwork24
rueosairdrop
cryptodefimx
freedefimemo
bonuseosdefi
web3coinbase
depositeoseu
eosbybitauto
eospublicetc
convertation
eosairdrop3k
defiboxbonus
tatarinaleks
promo.eos
eoshuobiweb3
retrodropdex
lidiarb11111
eoscointests
eosairdrop4k
eosbybitblok
nettesteos13
stableneteos
eosmxccreate
eoschainnet4
checkneteos1
p2peoswallet
eosdefibonus
gitonamibias
eostestnets2
mxeufreedrop
eosairdrop2k
eosairdrop1k
aptostestnet
Detected EOS Accounts which have an account history that looks similar like the reported EOS Accounts and the chance is high these are also EOS Accounts belonging to scammers:
dexbitwallet
memomxeufree
memodefidrop
bybitsaleeos
eutestnetdex
networkeos23
eosbybit.ai
depositeosru
eostestnets3
eosconvertos
bybitestn.gm
poolbybiteos
eosnetwork32
walletdexbit
rudeficrypto
frunzepuller
eosnetworked
eostestnet13
renbndeposit
eosdexpoolio
dexbybit.eos
polbndeposit
launchpadbit
eosfastdp.gm
eostest.io
testeosstart
testnet42eos
ethacoinbase
eospoolbybit
deficryptoru
drop.eos
shibatestnet
eosnetwork
bitboost.gm
eostestnett4
okxeosmoondb
ddadababaeos
eostestnets5
santementale
eostestnetcr
fineeosadrop
eospublickdd
eospromon.gm
mexcdeposokx
bybiteosbeta
belayabestia
eospublicbch
testneteos22
eostestdr.gm
testnetmxbit
rubittestnet
bittestnetmx
bitrutestnet
bitmxtestnet
dfttothemoon
bonus.eos
mantatestnet
bybitbeposit
eosrewarder1
saravedavidq
okxtothebeta
networkeos34
rutornusudoe
trxpubliceos
eoseospublic
eosbonusfast
eospromoc.gm
oficial.eos
kadyrovchrok
hmstrtestnet
bybiteosdep1
bybit.io
eudextestnet
bybitrussian
tonoptestnet
bybitcomtest
okbthemooneu
trxseopublic
eospromoo.gm
eosbybitdefi
networkeos33
maticdeposit
bybiteosnet2
bybittn.gm
eosdepos.gm
usdteosdepos
eosbindeposi
eosxrpcreate
llmykhailova
launchdexbit
huobieosweb3
mntbndeposit
misterboomik
testnet25eos
eostestblock
Author: Evgeny Chirochkin, Dario Cesaro
Editor: Markus Hinrichs
Sources & References:
Images Credits:
Screenshots by Chirochkin Evgeny