Do not visit/use scam websites offering to generate Bitcoins

What is the "Generate Bitcoin" scam?

"Generate Bitcoin" refers to a scam run on various deceptive websites. This scheme invites users to generate up to 0,2 BTC (Bitcoin cryptocurrency) each week for a relatively small fee.

In fact, this scam cannot generate the promised cryptocurrency - its sole purpose is to trick users into transferring Bitcoins to the scammers responsible. Therefore, you are strongly advised against using the fake "Generate Bitcoin" service.

Typically, users access deceptive/scam sites via mistyped URLs, redirects caused by intrusive ads, and by Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs).

The "Generate Bitcoin" scam claims that users can have up to 0.2 BTC transferred to their cryptocurrency wallets each week. At the current exchange rate, the sum is equivalent to approximately US$7,000 (USD). Note that exchange rates continually fluctuate.

The supposed weekly limit is necessary to keep the nonexistent exploit available for all users. To have the promised sum transferred to them, users are instructed to enter their cryptowallet addresses.

To have the transaction confirmed, they are informed that they must pay 0,007 BTC (approx. US$25 USD at the current rate) to the cryptocurrency miners enabling the fake exploit. As mentioned, "Generate Bitcoin" is a scam that cannot generate Bitcoins and no funds will be transferred to the users.

Regardless of whether the fee is paid or not, users will not receive the promised cryptocurrency. The requested transaction payment is small in comparison to the promised "profit" - this is intended to make the scam appear worthwhile and lure as many victims as possible.

Thus, by using "Generate Bitcoin", users can only experience financial loss. Cryptocurrencies are of particular interest to scammers/cyber criminals, as related transactions are difficult/impossible to trace. This makes prosecuting the criminals and regaining victims' losses practically impossible.

Furthermore, online schemes like "Generate Bitcoin" often operate in tandem with phishing scams. In other words, users may be requested to provide a variety of sensitive and personal information (e.g., names, surnames, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, banking account and credit card details, etc.). The collected data is then sold to third parties and/or used to further other scams. Furthermore, scam victims are targeted continuously by the scammers.

To summarize, by trusting the "Generate Bitcoin" scheme, users can experience financial losses, severe privacy issues and other serious problems.

PUAs are prime suspects behind rogue redirects to untrustworthy, misleading, deceptive/scam, and malicious websites (e.g., ones running the "Generate Bitcoin" scam), however, these applications can have different functionalities, and these functions can be in varied combinations.

Adware-types run intrusive advertisement campaigns (i.e., deliver various ads). The intrusive ads diminish the browsing experience, promote dubious/dangerous sites, and some can even be triggered (when clicked) to stealthily download/install software.

Browser hijackers are another type of PUA. They operate by making modifications to browser settings and restricting/denying access to them in order to promote fake search engines. The promoted web searchers are usually unable to provide search results, and so they redirect to Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other legitimate search engines.

Most PUAs have data tracking capabilities. They monitor browsing activity (browsing and search engine histories) and collect personal information extracted from it (IP addresses, geolocations, and other sensitive details). The gathered data is then monetized by sharing with and/or selling to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals).

In summary, unwanted software can cause system infections, serious privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft. To ensure device integrity and user safety, it is crucial to remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	Generate Bitcoin scam website
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Scam claims users can have a large Bitcoin sum transferred to them weekly by paying a small fee.
Related Domains	blockchainexploit[.]com
Detection Names (blockchainexploit[.]com)	Emsisoft (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), Certego (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (blockchainexploit[.]com)	198.54.115.72
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
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"BTC giveaway", "Double Your Bitcoins", "TikTok Followers Hack", "Among Us Free Items", and "PayPal Desktop App Scam" are some examples of scams similar to "Generate Bitcoin". The internet is rife with various deceptive/scam sites.

Popular scam models include (but are not limited to): "amazing" deals and offers, fake prize giveaways and raffles, alerts that an essential piece of software is outdated or missing, warnings that the system is infected or at risk, and so on.

Regardless of what these schemes claim, promise or demand, the purpose: to generate revenue for the scammers/cyber criminals behind them.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs are distributed via download/installation set-ups of other products. This deceptive marketing tactic of packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and settings, etc.) increases the risk of inadvertently allowing bundled content into the system.

Some PUAs have "official" download sites. Intrusive advertisements proliferate these applications as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software before download/installation. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule), and other third party downloaders commonly offer harmful and bundled content, and are therefore untrusted and should be avoided.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, and so on.

Intrusive advertisements typically seem legitimate, however, they can redirect to dubious and malicious sites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, and many others). If you encounter ads or redirects of this kind, inspect the system and remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately.

Installed programs must be activated and updated with tools or implemented functions that are provided by the official developers. No other third party, unofficial tools should be used.

Note that it is illegal to activate licensed software with ‘cracking’ tools. Files and programs should be downloaded from official websites and via direct download links. Avoid third party installers and the tools/sources mentioned above.

Do not open website links or files in irrelevant emails that are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. These bogus emails are often disguised as official and important. Regularly, scan your computer with reputable, up-to-date antivirus or anti-spyware software.

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

Text presented in the "Generate Bitcoin" scam:

Initial page:

 

BLOCKCHAINEXPLOIT
All wallet Addresses and devices are allowed for 16:49 minutes!
Server Status : Online | User IP : 85.206.10.62 | Users Online - 5134 | Tue | 02.02.2021 | 12:19:03

 

ENTER YOUR BITCOIN WALLET ADDRESS
Bitcoin
Enter wallet address here
Your bitcoin address is limited to 0.2 bitcoins per week in order to keep this exploit available to other users
SELECT BITCOIN AMOUNT TO GENERATE

 

0.2 BTC

 

High amounts takes time to process on this mining pool!
How to use Blockchainexploit

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Pop-up:

 

blockchainexploit
Are you sure that you typed correctly and you want to generate 0.2 BTC to this Bitcoin Address "-"? This operation takes a while and cannot be stopped, check your address twice before confirming.

 

----------------------------------------------

Last page:

BLOCKCHAINEXPLOIT
All wallet Addresses and devices are allowed for 17:31 minutes!
Server Status : Online | User IP : 85.206.10.62 | Users Online - 4204 | Tue | 02.02.2021 | 12:18:19

 

Our server generated Bitcoins Successfully
0.2 BTC has been sent to "-"
wallet address.
The Bitcoin network requires a small fee to be paid for each transaction that goes to the miners, else a transaction might never be confirmed.
To ensure your transaction confirms consistently and reliably,
pay the miners fee of 0.007 BTC for this transaction at:

 

1LqeUv1X9TsLCyxtG3FFRysZkvSFNF3ZJT

 

BITCOINS GENERATED AND SENT SUCCESSFULLY

 

Transaction Status: 0/3 Confirmations

The appearance of "Generate Bitcoin" scam (GIF):

Another example of generate Bitcoins-themed scam (bitcoinhack.pages[.]dev):

Text presented within:

TIME LIMIT: 3:34
EXPLOIT V.1.1.9
Enter your Bitcoin wallet address:
Example: 12dRugNcdxK39288NjcDV4GX7rMsKCGn6B
Choose amount of Bitcoin to generate:

0.1 BTC
*Choosing a larger amount will make the exploit take longer to run.

GET BITCOIN
PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECENTLY USED OUR EXPLOIT
13AsgqJCWQGzH46ihE1JB6SSwpPiToYA1S received 0.5 BTC 6s ago1KAZkZvmqhvUfFnp49m2W9ss57jNTKLgVT received 1.0 BTC 1s ago

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Quick menu:

• What is "Generate Bitcoin Scam"?
• STEP 1. Uninstall deceptive applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
• STEP 6. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.

Removal of potentially unwanted applications:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for any suspicious/recently-installed applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove rogue extensions from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and remove them.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the generate bitcoin scam website, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions", in the opened window remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with generate bitcoin scam website removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the generate bitcoin scam website, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the generate bitcoin scam website, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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