How to identify fake "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" sites

What is the fake "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" website?

During a routine investigation, our research team discovered this fake "$HIGHER Token" airdrop. This scam operates as a cryptocurrency drainer – by siphoning funds from exposed digital wallets. Essentially, victims of the "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" scam experience financial loss.

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 "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" website overview

We discovered this scam on marty-drops[.]xyz, but it could also be hosted on different domains. This deceptive page claims to be running an airdrop from a distribution pool of 100,000,000 tokens. It must be stressed that, regardless of any similarities, this scam is not associated with existing projects, platforms, or entities.

After a user presses the "Check Eligibility" button to see if they can participate in the bogus airdrop, they are prompted to connect their digital wallet. Linking a cryptowallet signs a malicious contract that facilitates the cryptocurrency drainer. Basically, a mechanism is triggered that enables automated outgoing transactions.

This activity may appear vague, so it might remain unnoticed for a significant amount of time. Drainers may be capable of approximating the value of digital assets and determining which to prioritize stealing.

It must be mentioned that due to the practically untraceable nature of cryptocurrency transactions, they cannot be reversed. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" page cannot retrieve the stolen assets.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

"Camp Network ($CAMP) Airdrop", "Bittensor (WTAO) Airdrop", and fake "ETH Farming" website are just a couple of our newest articles on drainers. Aside from using draining mechanisms, crypto scams commonly operate by deceiving users into manually transferring assets to scammer-owned wallets or by targeting wallet log-in credentials.

It is often the case that online scams are poorly made and riddled with mistakes. However, they can be competently put together and even convincingly disguised as content associated with the legitimate entities (e.g., companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, etc.). Due to this, we highly recommend vigilance when browsing and investing online.

How did I open a scam website?

Intrusive pop-up advertisements – a type of malvertising – are commonly used to promote cryptocurrency drainers. These adverts can be fully functional drainers themselves (i.e., capable of executing draining scripts). It is noteworthy that such pop-ups have been encountered on legitimate sites that had been hacked.

Social media spam is also widely utilized in crypto scam promotion. Posts and direct/private messages (DMs/PMs) endorsing this content can be made using accounts stolen from real projects, companies, celebrities, influencers, and so on.

Other endorsement techniques are not unlikely. Aside from those already mentioned, online scams are promoted via websites using rogue advertising networks, different types of spam (e.g., browser notifications, emails, forum posts, SMSes, robocalls/ cold calls, etc.), misspelled URLs (typosquatting), and adware.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

We advise vigilance and caution to ensure your online safety. Be wary of sites, adverts, and messages making promises that sound too good to be true. Take note of URLs and enter them carefully. Do not use websites offering pirated content or other dubious services (e.g., illegal streaming/downloading, Torrenting, etc.), as these webpages are typically monetized via rogue advertising networks.

Do not enable suspect pages to deliver browser notifications; ignore or deny the requests (i.e., click "Block", "Block Notifications", etc.). Do not open attachments or links found in questionable/irrelevant emails and other messages.

Download only from official/trustworthy sources and be attentive when installing (e.g., read terms, study options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of additional apps, extensions, etc.) – to prevent bundled/harmful software (like adware) from infiltrating the device.

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 "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" website (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is "$HIGHER Token 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?

An online scam is a type of deceptive Web content. These scams are designed to trick users into performing specific actions, such as connecting digital wallets to crypto drainers, disclosing sensitive information, making monetary transactions, buying products, downloading/installing programs, etc.

What is the purpose of online scams?

The purpose of online scams is to generate revenue at their victims' expense. These scammers predominantly profit by obtaining funds through deception, promoting content (e.g., websites, software, products, services, etc.), abusing/selling private information, and distributing malware.

I have lost digital assets to the "$HIGHER Token Airdrop" scam, can I get my money back?

Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible 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 most commonly promoted through spam (e.g., social media posts, PMs/DMs, emails, browser notifications, SMSes, calls, etc.), websites employing rogue advertising networks, misspelled URLs, intrusive advertisements, and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can scan visited websites for deceptive/malicious content and restrict all further access to such pages.