Twitter is cracking down on cryptocurrency scammers and is taking steps to reduce the number of such scams. This comes after a number of accounts impersonated Elon Musk, Vitalik Buterin, and John McAfee to dupe users into sending them small amounts of cryptocurrency.
The impersonators would deceive other Twitter users by using tactics such as misspellings in the username or using the same or similar avatar to fool users.
They would tell followers to send them small amounts of cryptocurrency and would promise in return to send a bigger amount back.
In February, Buterin tweeted to his followers that if they sent him 0.1ETH, “I will send you nothing because I am too lazy.” Scammers, in reply, took the opportunity to ask users to send them small amounts of ethereum.
In response to the scammers impersonating Buterin, he took to Twitter to negate the rumours:
A Twitter spokesperson said, "We're aware of this form of manipulation and are proactively implementing a number of signals to prevent these types of accounts from engaging with others in a deceptive manner."
The impersonators would deceive other Twitter users by using tactics such as misspellings in the username or using the same or similar avatar to fool users.
They would tell followers to send them small amounts of cryptocurrency and would promise in return to send a bigger amount back.
In February, Buterin tweeted to his followers that if they sent him 0.1ETH, “I will send you nothing because I am too lazy.” Scammers, in reply, took the opportunity to ask users to send them small amounts of ethereum.
But if you send me 0.2 ETH, I will send 2 ETH back to your address, because I can. My address:— Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerjm) February 8, 2018
0xCDDd354cd8550c5E30eaB2d63cDC48156a344f0A
Beware of fakes!#eth #ethereum #airdrop #donation pic.twitter.com/PiHzc3xUl4
In response to the scammers impersonating Buterin, he took to Twitter to negate the rumours:
Reminder: anyone offering ETH in response to this tweet is a scammer.— Vitalik "No I'm not giving away ETH" Buterin (@VitalikButerin) March 4, 2018
No, I'm not giving away ETH.— Vitalik "No I'm not giving away ETH" Buterin (@VitalikButerin) March 4, 2018
A Twitter spokesperson said, "We're aware of this form of manipulation and are proactively implementing a number of signals to prevent these types of accounts from engaging with others in a deceptive manner."