Crypto Advance Fee Scams: When Greed Clouds Reason

If you receive a text message out of the blue containing the details of a crypto wallet, hold your horses. Luck hasn’t suddenly struck you. It’s a crypto advance fee scam that exploits people’s greed. This crypto scam is more effective than you might think because the victim’s greed typically clouds their judgment.

When the opportunity to access and empty someone else’s crypto wallet arises or earn a significant amount for an easy task, people tend to act on it. Victims of this type of crypto scam act based on emotion, making it so effective.

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When you receive the username and password of a crypto wallet, your first thought might be to log into the account and withdraw the amount stored inside the wallet. However, when you attempt to withdraw the money, you’re then asked to pay an upfront fee, followed by additional fees to access nonexistent money.

Keep reading this guide to learn how this crypto scam variant works and how to avoid falling victim.

How This Scam Works

This scam begins with a text message that lands out of the blue on your phone. The message includes details of a crypto wallet, including the platform’s URL, wallet number, the amount of cryptocurrency stored, and the password.

Scammers also target victims via email and social media. Interestingly, targets on social media often respond more quickly and engage with scammers more frequently. As a result, the success rate is higher among social media targets compared to those reached through text messages.

If you respond to the message and log into the crypto account using the details provided, the scammers have achieved their first goal. They’ve captured your attention, and you’ve engaged with them. Now, they’re ready to move on.

They will claim that they need your help managing the account or retrieving the funds because they’re having difficulties withdrawing the money. To convince you, they’ll promise a share of the withdrawn amount.

Sometimes, scammers will skip the “help me out and earn some money” part and rely solely on the fee strategy.

The crypto platform you’re directed to requires an upfront withdrawal fee. In reality, that’s a fake platform controlled by scammers the entire time. The whole website is a scam, and any balances you see there are fake.

If you try to withdraw money after paying the initial fee, the website will prompt you to pay additional fees. That’s how scammers try to squeeze more money from you.

Those fees go straight into their pockets.

This scam aims to get you to access the website and attempt to withdraw money. Before you can withdraw any funds or before they can “share” the withdrawn money with you, you need to pay an upfront withdrawal fee, followed by additional fees.

The main idea behind this scam is to convince you to pay the initial withdrawal fee and as many additional fees as possible. The promise of a share of the withdrawn amount is a lie meant to lure you into paying that upfront fee and get you hooked on paying more so-called fees and taxes.

Once you’ve paid enough fees, the scammers will stop responding to your messages. They’ve achieved their main goal and will move on to their next victims.

Think about this scam this way.

Imagine a stranger approaching you with a locked safe. They say, “This safe contains $250,000. I’ll give you the key, but first, you need to pay me $250.”

This crypto advance fee scam works the same way. Scammers claim to give you access to some hefty crypto funds but require you to pay some fees first.

In a variation of this scam, you’re prompted to enter a transaction password when you attempt to withdraw the money. Since no such password exists, scammers will ask you to create a new account on their platform. Then, they’ll ask you to transfer cryptocurrency to this newly created account and back to your wallet.

Don’t do that.

They are trying to scam you twice, getting you to transfer cryptocurrency to an account they fully control. You won’t be able to transfer anything from that account.

What Are the Red Flags and How to Spot Them Easily?

1. Unsolicited Messages

Be wary of unsolicited messages that come out of nowhere. Scammers use this tactic frequently, sending messages to thousands of people in the hope that someone will respond. The more people they target, the higher their chances of success.

Unsolicited messages often contain fake stories, such as the scam we’re discussing. Scammers claim they need your help managing or withdrawing money from a crypto wallet. These stories are designed to trick you into trusting them.

It’s worth noting that most of these text messages come from phone numbers in non-English-speaking countries. Grammar and spelling mistakes are common in these messages

2. Too Much Information

The fact that scammers provide so many crypto details in their initial message (such as the crypto URL, wallet number, amount of cryptocurrency stored, and password) is a red flag that this is a scam attempt. This level of detail is unusual and suspicious.

No one would share such detailed information with a stranger. These details essentially allow anyone to access the crypto wallet. It’s a honeypot that scammers use to gain your trust and make themselves seem legitimate and honest.

The real goal is to get you to act quickly. They hope you will click on the crypto link and agree to pay whatever fees they prompt you to.

3. Upfront Fee

Asking for an upfront fee to help withdraw money from a crypto wallet, with the promise of a share of that amount, is a significant warning sign. This scam is a crypto honeypot that targets greedy and dishonest people. You will lose any money you pay in fees.

4. New Domain

Another clear sign of a scam is when scammers direct you to a fake website with a domain that’s only a few weeks or months old.

By the way, you can use Scam Detector’s Validator tool to check the website’s domain creation date and if a website is safe.

What Should You Do if You Receive Similar Messages?

If you get similar messages, you should immediately block and report the sender.

Always be wary of unsolicited messages. Don’t click on any crypto links or provide your own crypto details. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

While it may be tempting to log into another person’s crypto account, it is illegal and ethically wrong to do so.

If you have fallen into their tricks, don’t let yourself become their victim twice. Beware of recovery scammers claiming they can instantly recover your stolen money.

How to Report Scammers

Warn your family and friends to know about this scam to prevent them from falling victim.

You can report scammers and any suspicious activity to the Federal Trade, and the FBI Internet Complaint Center by using the pages below:

• Report to the FTC
• Report to the FBI Internet Complaints Center

How to Protect Yourself More

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Feel free to explore additional articles on related fraud. Last but not least, if you had any bad experiences, make sure to use the comments section below to expose the scammers!

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