How to recognize fake "Bittensor" airdrop websites

What is the fake "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop" website?

While investigating suspicious sites, our researchers discovered this fake "Bittensor (WTAO)" airdrop. This scam is not associated with the actual Bittensor network website (bittensor.com). When users attempt to participate in this limited-time event, they are deceived into exposing their cryptowallets to a cryptocurrency drainer.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not review crypto projects, please do your own research when investing money.

Federal Trade Comission (FTC) states that since the start of 2021, more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1 billion in crypto to scams – that's about one out of every four dollars reported lost, more than any other payment method.

Fake "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop" website overview

This scam masquerades as the official site of Bittensor (bittensor.com). Bittensor is a decentralized network combining blockchain technology with AI (Artificial Intelligence). This network aims to establish an open marketplace for AI models, computational resources, and relevant data.

It must be emphasized that this fake airdrop is not associated with the real Bittensor or any other existing projects, platforms, or entities.

We discovered this scam on the-bittensor[.]live, yet it could be hosted on different domains. Connecting a digital wallet to this webpage signs a malicious contract that facilitates the crypto drainer. Essentially, a mechanism is initiated that facilitates automated outgoing transactions. Some drainers can approximate the value of digital assets to determine which to prioritize stealing.

It is pertinent to mention that these transactions may appear innocuous – thus, they can remain unnoticed for a significant amount of time. What is more, cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible because they are nearly untraceable. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop" site cannot recover the stolen funds.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

"$COPE Airdrop", fake "ETH Farming" website, "PancakeSwap Voting", fake "Aave App" website, and "Brian Airdrop" are just some of our latest articles on drainers.

There are three primary modus operandi for crypto scams: using draining scripts to siphon funds from exposed wallets, phishing for wallet log-in credentials, and deceiving users into manually transferring assets to scammer-owned wallets.

While online scams are notorious for being poorly constructed and riddled with various mistakes, they can be competently put together and believably disguised as content associated with genuine entities (e.g., companies, organizations, institutions, etc.). Cryptocurrency-targeting scams often utilize close or perfect visual copies of legitimate websites.

How did I open a scam website?

Crypto drainers are commonly endorsed via intrusive pop-up ads (a type of malvertising). Some of the pop-ups are fully functional drainers themselves; they entice users into "connecting" digital wallets by promising unbelievable benefits. These adverts have even been encountered on legitimate sites that had been compromised.

Another prevalent promotional technique is social media spam. Posts and direct/private messages (DMs/PMs) endorsing these scams can be made using accounts stolen from real entrepreneurs, celebrities, influencers, projects, companies, etc.

Other promotional methods are not unlikely. Aside from those already mentioned, online scams are widely endorsed through different types of spam (e.g., browser notifications, emails, forum posts, robocalls/ cold calls, SMSes, etc.), webpages employing rogue advertising networks, misspelled URLs (typosquatting), and adware.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

Caution is crucial to online safety. Therefore, be wary of websites, ads, and messages that make incredible promises or warn about impending threats. Take note of URLs and type them carefully. Do not use sites offering pirated content or other questionable services (e.g., illegal streaming/downloading, Torrenting, etc.), as these webpages usually utilize rogue advertising networks.

Do not permit suspicious pages to display browser notifications; ignore or block their notification requests. Do not open attachments or links present in dubious/irrelevant communications (e.g., emails, SMSes, PMs/DMs, etc.).

Download only from official/verified sources and be cautious when installing (e.g., study terms and options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of supplementary apps, extensions, etc.) – to prevent harmful software (like adware) from infiltrating the system.

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

Appearance of the fake "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop" website (GIF):

Screenshot of the official Bittensor website (bittensor.com):

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop" crypto drainer?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is an online scam?

Online scams are a type of Web content that aims to trick users into performing specific actions. To elaborate, victims can be deceived into connecting crypto wallets to drainers, sending money to scammers, providing sensitive information, downloading/installing programs, buying products, subscribing to services, and so on.

What is the purpose of online scams?

The purpose of online scams is to generate revenue for scammers. They may profit by acquiring funds through deception, promoting content (e.g., sites, software, products, services, etc.), selling/abusing private information, spreading malware, or through other nefarious means.

I have lost digital assets to the "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop" scam, can I get my money back?

Cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed due to their practically untraceable nature. Hence, victims of such scams cannot get their money back.

Why do I encounter online scams?

Online scams are predominantly encountered via websites using rogue advertising networks, spam (e.g., social media posts, DMs/PMs, emails, browser notifications, etc.), malvertising (intrusive ads), typosquatting (mistyped URLs), and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites and detect rogue, deceptive/scam, and malicious pages. It can also block all further access to such sites.