Avoid losing digital assets to fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" sites

What is the fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" website?

During a routine investigative session, our research team discovered this fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" website (allocation-apustaja[.]com; potentially, other domains).

The page is presented as the official site of the APU cryptocurrency token (apu.com), which is running a limited-time airdrop. When victims connect their digital wallets to this scam – they are exposed to a crypto drainer that siphons the funds stored therein.

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.

Fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" website overview

This scheme impersonates the official APU token website (apu.com). We found the scam promoted on allocation-apustaja[.]com, but it could be hosted on other domains as well. Users who register within 24 hours are eligible for an airdrop distributing the APU memecoin that is based on the Apu Apustaja ("Help Helper") Internet meme.

It must be emphasized that this airdrop is fake, and this scheme is not associated with any existing tokens, projects, platforms, or entities.

When users attempt to participate in this giveaway, they are requested to connect their digital wallets. Thereby, they are lured into signing a malicious contract that facilitates the draining mechanism, which steals funds from their cryptowallets. Drainers may be capable of approximating the value of digital assets and targeting them first.

These automated transactions may appear innocuous, thus remaining unnoticed for a long time. It must be mentioned that cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed because of their nearly untraceable nature. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" site cannot recover the stolen assets.

Threat Summary:

Name	"$APU Airdrop Registration" crypto drainer
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud, Cryptocurrency Drainer
Fake Claim	APU memecoin airdrop for users who register within 24 hours.
Related Domains	allocation-apustaja[.]com
Detection Names	G-Data (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Seclookup (Malicious), alphaMountain.ai (Suspicious), CyRadar (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	172.67.202.98
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, social media spam, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Monetary loss
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

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Cryptocurrency-centered scams primarily operate in one of three ways – using draining mechanisms to steal funds from wallets, phishing for wallet log-in credentials, and deceiving users into manually transferring assets to scammer-owned wallets.

Due to how widespread scams are online and how well-made they can be – we highly recommend exercising caution when browsing and investing.

How did I open a scam website?

Intrusive pop-up ads (malvertising) are often used to promote cryptocurrency drainers. These adverts may be fully functional drainers themselves; they entice users into connecting digital wallets by promising various boons. It is noteworthy that these pop-ups might be encountered on legitimate websites that had been compromised.

Additionally, crypto-targeting schemes are prevalent on social media networks; we have found many instances of their endorsement on X (more commonly referred to by its former name – Twitter). These spam posts and PMs/DMs can be made using hacked accounts (i.e., ones originally belonging to real projects, companies, entrepreneurs, celebrities, influencers, etc.).

Other possible promotional techniques include websites using rogue advertising networks, different types of spam (e.g., emails, SMSes, browser notifications, forum posts, etc.), typosquatting (misspelled URLs), and adware.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

It is essential to be vigilant when browsing. We recommend wariness concerning ads and sites making promises that sound too good to be true. It is important to pay attention to URLs and enter them carefully.

We advise against using websites that offer pirated content or other dubious services (e.g., Torrenting, illegal streaming/downloading, etc.), as these webpages are usually monetized via rogue advertising networks.

Suspicious pages must not be permitted to display browser notifications; their requests have to be ignored or denied (i.e., by selecting "Block", "Block Notifications", etc.). Another recommendation is to exercise caution with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened.

Additionally, all downloads must be made from official/verified sources, and installations have to be approached with care (e.g., by studying terms and options, using "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opting out of supplementary apps, extensions, etc.) – to prevent bundled/harmful software from infiltrating the system.

If your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate all threats.

Appearance of the fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" website (GIF):

Screenshot of the official APU memecoin website (apu.com):

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is "$APU Airdrop Registration" crypto drainer?
• 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 an online scam?

An online scam is a type of deceptive content hosted on the Internet that aims to trick users into performing specific actions. To elaborate, victims can be lured into collecting digital wallets to crypto drainers, making monetary transactions, disclosing sensitive information, purchasing products, subscribing to services, downloading/installing programs, and so on.

What is the purpose of online scams?

Online scams are designed to generate revenue for scammers. Profit can be made by obtaining funds through deception, endorsing content (e.g., websites, software, services, etc.), selling/abusing vulnerable data, and proliferating malware.

I have lost digital assets to the "$APU Airdrop Registration" scam, can I get my money back?

These transactions cannot be reversed due to their nearly untraceable nature. Hence, victims of scams like this fake "$APU Airdrop Registration" site cannot get their money back.

Why do I encounter online scams?

Online scams are most commonly promoted via malvertising (intrusive advertisements), webpages that use rogue advertising networks, spam (e.g., social media posts, DMs/PMs, SMSes, browser notifications, etc.), typosquatting (mistyped URLs), and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites and detect rogue, deceptive, and malicious pages. Therefore, should you happen upon such a webpage – you will be immediately warned, and further access to it will be blocked.

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