How to avoid falling for scams like "Utility Coin ($UTILITY) Airdrop"

What is "Utility Coin ($UTILITY) Airdrop" scam?

Our team has inspected the website (utility.soldex[.]trade) and found that it imitates the original Utility Coin site (theutilitycoin.com). The fake site promotes an airdrop to lure visitors into taking actions allowing fraudsters to steal their cryptocurrency holdins. It should be avoided to prevent monetary loss.

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.

"Utility Coin ($UTILITY) Airdrop" scam in detail

Theutilitycoin[.]com promotes Utility Coin ($UTILITY). It presents the token as a functional and technologically advanced cryptocurrency positioned on the Solana blockchain. Overall, the site is marketed as a project that distinguishes itself from typical speculative coins by claiming to offer multiple real-world uses and advanced technical capabilities.

The fake website (utility.soldex[.]trade) promotes a $UTILITY airdrop. It offers visitors to never miss out on free crypto rewards, track, participate, and claim airdrops from blockchain projects across the Solana ecosystem. On this site, visitors are instructed to connect their wallets to "get started".

However, connecting a wallet executes a cryptocurrency drainer, a malicious tool designed to transfer funds from the user's wallet to the fraudster's wallet. Once cryptocurrency has been stolen, it cannot be recovered, as blockchain transactions are irreversible. For this reason, users should always verify the authenticity of any crypto-related platform.

Websites that appear unofficial, suspicious, or offer free cryptocurrency are typically scams and should be avoided.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the fake website (utility.soldex[.]trade) promotes a fake crypto giveaway to trick users into connecting their wallets, which activates a cryptocurrency drainer that steals funds. Users should always examine crypto plarforms that offer free tokens or rewards to avoid theft.

Some examples of similar scams are "Hyperliquid Rewards Program", "Regent of the North Winds ($REGENT)", and "Early Spark Adopters Rewards".

How did I open a scam website?

Cybercriminals often use hijacked or fake social media accounts, especially on X (Twitter) and Facebook, or compromised websites (commonly WordPress sites) to promote crypto scams. Users may also encounter these scams through content (e.g., links, ads, buttons) on dubious sites.

Additionally, scam sites are promoted through deceptive notifications from untrustworthy pages, adware, fraudulent emails, and rogue ad networks. These networks are often present on torrent sites, adult pages, illegal streaming services, and similar platforms.

How to avoid visiting scam pages?

Do not open files or links in irrelevant, unexpected emails or messages from suspicious senders. Download apps or files only from official websites or app stores. Keep your system and software up to date. Perform regular scans with reputable antivirus or security programs.

Additionally, do not interact with pop-ups, ads, and suspicious links on untrustworthy sites, and always deny their requests to send notifications. 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 "Utility Coin ($UTILITY) Airdrop" scam (GIF):

The original Utility Token website (theutilitycoin.com):

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake Utility Coin ($UTILITY) 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 airdrop?

Fake airdrops lure users with the promise of free tokens but are schemes to get victims to perform actions that help scammers to achieve their goals.

What is the purpose of a fake crypto airdrop?

Criminals running these schemes typically seek to steal cryptocurrency, often using malicious tools or data-harvesting tactics to drain victims' wallets.

Why do I encounter scam websites?

Fraudsters promote their scams via compromised websites, stolen or fake social media accounts, rogue ad networks on torrent and adult platforms (or similar sites) fake alerts from dubious pages, deceptive emails, and misleading ads or pop-ups displayed on unreliable sites.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from scams?

Combo Cleaner identifies potentially dangerous or misleading sites, warns users of threats, and blocks access to those pages.