How to spot fake giveaways like "$SpaceX Coin Airdrop"

What is "$SpaceX Coin Airdrop"?

Our team has inspected the site and found that it hosts a fake airdrop (cryptocurrency giveaway). In this scam, fraudsters aim to trick individuals into believing that they can receive $SpaceX coins. However, whoever falls for this scam will likely lose their cryptocurrency holdings. Thus, this web page should be avoided.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not review crypto projects, please do your own research when investing money.

Federal Trade Comission (FTC) states that since the start of 2021, more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1 billion in crypto to scams – that's about one out of every four dollars reported lost, more than any other payment method.

"$SpaceX Coin Airdrop" in detail

This scam website (spx-coin[.]com) briefly announces the $SpaceX coin airdrop registration. It offers to join now and receive your share from the airdrop pool. Clicking the provided "Claim" button leads to a request to connect a wallet. However, doing so activates a cryptocurrency drainer.

The cryptocurrency drainer utilized in this scam has one purpose—to drain the cryptocurrency wallets of the victims who connect their wallets. It automatically transfers crypto holdings from the victim's wallet to the scammer's. Unfortunately, victims of this scam can experience permanent financial loss.

Victims of cryptocurrency scams are usually unable to recover their lost funds because cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous and irreversible. Once the funds are transferred, they are typically gone for good, and there is no central authority to track or reverse the transaction. Therefore, it is important to be careful when encountering enticing offers online.

It is worth noting that scammers were spotted promoting the fake $SpaceX coin airdrop on Facebook using a hacked account belonging to Morgan Freeman. Below is a screenshot of the promotional post made using the stolen account.

Threat Summary:

Name	Fake $SpaceX Coin Airdrop
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Participants can receive free $SpaceX coins
Disguise	Legitimate $SpaceX coin airdrop/giveaway
Related Domain	spx-coin[.]com
Detection Names	CRDF (Malicious), Fortinet (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Unofficial domain, lack of official verification, unrealistic claims, too good-to-be-true promises.
Distribution methods	Compromised/hijacked websites, stolen or fake social media profiles, rogue online pop-up ads, unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
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Conclusion

The number of scams involving crypto drainers is increasing rapidly, and the goal is always the same—to steal cryptocurrency from unsuspecting individuals. Usually, scammers behind these fraudulent schemes offer free cryptocurrency as a lure. Victims can lose their cryptocurrency holdings after connecting their wallets.

Before connecting wallets, making payments, sharing personal information, or taking any other actions, it is important to carefully review web pages offering free cryptocurrency, rewards, or other deals. Verifying the legitimacy of websites can prevent monetary loss, identity theft, and other issues.

More examples of scams involving crypto drainers are "Claim BOOE", "Claim $NEMO", and "Helium Rewards".

How did I open a scam website?

Scams like the one described in our article are often promoted using stolen or fake Facebook, X/Twitter, or other social media accounts. These scams are also promoted using hijacked WordPress websites. Also, scam sites can be accessed through deceptive ads, pop-ups, and links on unreliable pages.

Furthermore, users can end up visiting such pages via torrent sites, illegal movie streaming pages and similar platforms often associated with rogue advertising networks. In other cases, scam websites can be encountered through notifications from dubious pages, emails containing fraudulent links, and ads displayed by adware.

How to avoid visiting scam pages?

Avoid clicking on links in unexpected emails and social media messages. The same applies to advertisements, pop-ups, and links on shady websites. Furthermore, do not allow suspicious sites to send you notifications. Only download apps and files from official websites or trusted app stores.

Keep your browser, operating system, and apps up to date, and be aware of common scam tactics to protect yourself. If your computer is already infected with unwanted apps, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of the fake "$SpaceX Coin Airdrop" (GIF):

Screenshot of the promotion posted using the Facebook account stolen from Morgan Freeman:

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake $SpaceX Coin Airdrop?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a fake airdrop?

A fake airdrop is a scam where fraudsters promise free cryptocurrency or tokens.

What is the purpose of a fake airdrop?

Scammers often use these airdrops to trick people into providing sensitive data, such as private keys, passwords, or other details that allow them to steal funds. They also use crypto drainers to siphon crypto holdings.

Why do I encounter fake airdrops?

These fake airdrops are usually advertised through fraudulent emails, social media (stolen or fake accounts), or deceptive pop-up ads. Web pages (e.g., torrent sites and illegal movie streaming pages) associated with rogue advertising networks are also used to promote these scams. Scammers use various tactics to lure users into their schemes.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from pop-up scams?

Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites and detect harmful ones. This includes sites hosting scams. It warns users and blocks access to unreliable sites.

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