How to avoid fake giveaways like "$HOLO Airdrop"

What is the fake "$HOLO Airdrop"?

We have examined the website (holologs[.]cfd) and concluded that it is designed to trick visitors into participating in a fake crypto airdrop (giveaway). Falling for this scam can result in significant financial losses. Thus, this site (and similar pages) should be recognized as scams and ignored.

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

Federal Trade Commission (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.

"$HOLO Airdrop" in detail

The website promotes a fake cryptocurrency airdrop, claiming users can join an exclusive opportunity to claim $HOLO tokens. It claims that this opportunity is for early adopters and community members. The site also claims to be part of a revolutionary DeFi project to trick users into participating.

The main purpose of this fraudulent page is to trick visitors into connecting their wallets. Once this is done, the site activates a cryptocurrency drainer, which is a malicious tool designed to transfer cryptocurrency from the victim's wallet to the scammer's.

Usually, cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed. Once funds are sent to a scammer's wallet, they are lost. For this reason, users must exercise caution when dealing with cryptocurrencies and avoid engaging with suspicious platforms (especially those promising free tokens) to protect themselves from scams.

Similar scams in general

Fake cryptocurrency platforms frequently mimic legitimate services to deceive users into connecting their wallets. Once connected, scammers can use crypto drainers or other techniques to steal funds, which are rarely recoverable. Users are advised to exercise caution when using crypto platforms and to carefully verify their legitimacy to prevent financial losses.

More examples of similar scams are "Mitosis Airdrop", "Claim $STREAMER", and "OpenxAI Staking".

How did I open a scam website?

Scammers trick users into visiting websites that use crypto drainers to steal funds by exploiting compromised or fake social media accounts (mostly on Twitter/X or Facebook) and hacked WordPress sites. Malicious advertising networks (often used by torrent sites, adult websites, and illegal streaming platforms) are also used to push scams.

Users can also encounter fraudulent pages through deceptive emails, pop-ups, ads generated by adware, misleading buttons or links on suspicious websites, or fake notifications from untrustworthy sites.

How to avoid visiting scam pages?

Users should download software and files from legitimate sources, such as official websites or authorized app stores. Notification permissions should not be granted to suspicious sites, and interacting with ads, buttons, or other content on untrustworthy pages should be avoided.

Unexpected emails or messages from unknown senders should be treated with caution - links and attachments within them should be ignored. In addition, it is important to keep the operating system and installed software up to date and to perform regular scans using a reliable security tool.

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

The appearance of "$HOLO Airdrop" scam (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake $HOLO token airdrop?
• 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 a fake crypto giveaway?

A fake cryptocurrency giveaway is a fraudulent scheme in which scammers pose as reputable platforms, companies, or other entities to lure individuals into believing they can claim free tokens.

What is the purpose of a fake crypto giveaway?

Such scams typically seek to steal cryptocurrency or gather personal information from unsuspecting individuals.

Why do I encounter scam websites?

Scammers promote malicious websites via fake or hacked social media accounts, compromised sites, and rogue advertising networks (often used by torrent sites, pages offering illegal streaming services, and similar pages). Fraudulent pages can also be opened through deceptive emails, pop-ups, ads, misleading links, or notifications from dubious sites.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from scams?

Combo Cleaner monitors websites visited by users and identifies malicious or scam sites. When an untrustworthy website is detected, it alerts the user and prevents access to the site.