How to recognize crypto scams like UFO giveaway scam?

What is kind of scam is UFO giveaway scam?

It is a scam used to trick people into believing that they can triple their UFO cryptocurrency funds. People who fall for giveaway scams receive nothing in return and lose the crypto they have sent.

UFO giveaway scam in detail

This scam is promoted using a deceptive website claiming that people can send from 100.000 UFOs to 300.000 UFOs and receive three times more in return. It also claims that crypto funds can be tripled more than once.

This scam page also has a countdown timer showing how much time there is left to participate in a giveaway, a bar showing how much UFO cryptocurrency has been already given away, and a wallet address (a QR code).

Threat Summary:

Name	UFO cryptocurrency scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	UFO coins can be tripled by sending them to the provided wallet
Disguise	Legitimate UFO crypto giveaway
Related Domain	ufo-gaming[.]org
Detection Names	Cartego (Suspicious), Emsisoft (Phishing), Fortinet (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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.
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.

Crypto giveaway scams in general

Neither this nor any other similar website is legitimate. It is important to mention that such scams can appear like legitimate-looking giveaways sponsored by celebrities or other known figures. Another important detail is that cryptocurrency payments typically are not reversible.

More examples of similar scams are "PROT Giveaway", "Ripple Giveaway", Polkadot Giveaway". As mentioned before, most of these scams are delivered by deceptive pages. These pages are promoted via emails, shady ads, potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs often are bundled with other programs (included in downloaders and installers for those programs). This distribution method works when users download or install programs without changing "Advanced", "Custom" (or similar) settings. Those settings can be used to deselect optional downloads or installations.

In other cases, PUAs are distributed via advertisements by designing them to run specific scripts or through fake installers. Most fake installers are promoted on shady/deceptive websites.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download applications (and files) from trustworthy, official pages. Do not click on advertisements that appear on questionable web pages. Always check downloaders and installers for optional downloads or installations and deselect the unwanted ones before downloading or installing programs.

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

The appearance of UFO giveaway scam (GIF):

Text in this scam page:

Join the giveaway
UFO is actively developing, the community is growing every day! Today we appeared on Coinmarketcap, to celebrate this event we decided to hold a promotion to giveaway 10 000 000 000 UFO

To participate you need to send from 100,000 UFO to 300,000 UFO to the deposit address, and we will send you back from 100,000,000 UFO to 300,000,000 UFO (x3 back) to the address from which you sent it. Transactions are handled manually, we try to send your tokens within 24 hours or faster!!!

Thanks for choosing us!!! next only to the moon!!!
x3
For example:
If you send 100 000 UFO , you will be get 300 000 UFO back

If you send 1 000 000 UFO , you will be get 3 000 000 UFO back

If you send 10 000 000 UFO , you will be get 30 000 000 UFO back.

If you send 15 000 000 UFO , you will be get 45 000 000 UFO back

If you send 50 000 000 UFO , you will be get 150 000 000 UFO back

If you send 100 000 000 UFO , you will be get 300 000 000 UFO back

If you send 500 000 000 UFO , you will be get 1 500 000 000 UFO back

Last chance to get your UFO
10 000 000 000

You can send UFO to the following address:
WAITING FOR PAYMENT
COPY ADDRESS TO CLIPBOARD
Instructions
To make a transaction, you can use any wallet or exchange for participation!
Once we receive your transaction, we will send outgoing transaction Chargeback time from 30 seconds to 24 hours
When you receive your reward, You can participate again, You can also invite friends!
You can participate in the giveaway. Until the timer expires or Until all UFOs have been distributed! When you receive your reward.

Transactions for Address
0x70daF13BdC9BDAaeF2F36C45C1498d6a913CA167

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Quick menu:

• What is UFO giveaway 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.

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 ufo cryptocurrency scam, 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 ufo cryptocurrency scam 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 ufo cryptocurrency scam, 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.

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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a cryptocurrency giveaway scam?

It is a type of scam offering to multiply cryptocurrency. Scammers promise to multiply the cryptocurrency that unsuspecting people send.

What is the purpose of a cryptocurrency giveaway scam?

The purpose of such scams is to extract as much cryptocurrency as possible. Typically, scammers claim that it is a limited-time offer and can be used only once.

I have sent cryptocurrency to scammers, can I get my money back?

Usually, cryptocurrency payments are not reversible.

Why do I encounter such scams?

It is common that scam websites are promoted through other shady pages, untrustworthy advertisements, potentially unwanted applications. They rarely get visited on purpose.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from giveaway and similar scams?

Combo Cleaner is designed to scan websites and detect malicious ones. Thus, this app informs about a trustworthy page and restricts access to it.

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