Binance Co-Foudner Yi He has disclosed that unidentified notorious elements are reaching out to existing or potential crypto investors, offering them scam token listings for money using her name. These types of scams are classified as ‘token listing’ scams. Through social networking platforms like LinkedIn and X, cyber criminals first identify members of the crypto community, analyse their investment patterns, and then reach out to those who are more likely to invest in newer tokens with hopes to hit a jackpot. Sometimes the scammers also reach out to crypto projects luring them to pay and list their tokens on popular exchanges.
In He’s case, scammers impersonating her have been reaching out to strangers primarily through LinkedIn. Advising the crypto community to beware of these scammers, He published a detailed post on X. She also attached an image of the message her impersonators have been forwarding, to give people an idea of what to beware of.
“Please be wary of those who claim to be close to me and discuss with you about investments or listing,” He posted from her own X account.
I’d like to reveal a scam which has happened quite often: I do have a LinkedIn account, but I have long forgotten the password; I am also not in charge of discussing with projects for a potential listing; please be wary of those who claim to be close to me and discuss with you… pic.twitter.com/gpIj41vx92
— Yi He (@heyibinance) January 29, 2024
Earlier this month, self-proclaimed blockchain expert Anndy Lian also brought to light several fishy groups on WhatsApp messaging app. Through these unauthorised groups, scammers have been known to lure-in group members into free crypto investment opportunities, crypto rewards, and monthly events among other services.
“This gives crypto a bad name,” Lian published in a tweet, that also showed a screenshot of a fake Binance WhatsApp group titled ‘Singapore Binance T10′.
I really hate this kind of scammy #Binance titled groups on WhatsApp. This gives crypto a bad name.
1) Binance does not have such groups that offer you passive income
2) If someone in the group says he is @cz_binance , please tell him to read the newspaper
3) Exit + report pic.twitter.com/CtJ9FXTI7O— Anndy Lian (@anndylian) January 24, 2024
Commenting under He’s word of caution, Lian re-shared his previous tweet and called for better education and awareness for the sector participants.
The crypto industry, that is currently sitting on the valuation of stands at $1.67 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,38,82,793 crore), has remained riddled with scams for years now. There were over 600 crypto hacks in 2023 that led to the loss of $2.61 billion (roughly Rs. 21,696 crore), a recent report by cybersecurity firm PeckShield reportedly disclosed. However, it also stated that crypto hacks and scams dipped by 27.78 percent in 2023 after the introduction of some new rules and regulations in the industry.