The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of any giveaways on social media, especially cryptocurrency giveaways.
NITDA said this scam, which is being perpetrated mainly on the short video streaming platform TikTok, has spread to other social media.
According to the agency, the scammers’ endgame is to trick their victims into making some crypto payment and also steal from their crypto wallets.
NITDA further explained that “TikTok has recently been flooded with videos showing cryptocurrency giveaways supposedly offered by notable names and organizations. These scams are not new and have been spreading on other social media platforms for years. The videos contain a deep fake video of influential people promoting the fake giveaway on credible platforms and network stations.
“A few others show steps on how to log into listed websites to enter promo codes to receive free bitcoin. When users attempt to take part in the giveaway, they are prompted to register an account with the website they visit. Subsequently, they are asked to enter a promo code that was received on the TikTok video they watched.
“Once they enter the code, the site will pretend to deposit Bitcoin into the user’s wallet. However, when attempting to withdraw the free bitcoins, you must first activate your account by depositing .005 bitcoins.”
It added that the scammers generate their revenue by stealing these ‘activation’ deposits, as the victim will never receive any bitcoins from the sites.
“Furthermore, you will also be prompted to enter confidential information, which can be collected by the threat actors to attempt to breach your other legitimate cryptocurrency accounts,” the agency stated.
On what can be done to escape the antics of scammers, NITDA advised Nigerians not to fill in their data on any sites they do not trust. The agency also cautioned Nigerians to be wary of any giveaways on social media, especially cryptocurrency giveaways.
