How to avoid getting scammed by fake "$COMMON Airdrop" sites

What is the fake "$COMMON Airdrop" website?

While browsing untrustworthy websites, our researchers found this fake "$COMMON" airdrop. The scam impersonates the official website of the Common Protocol and operates as a cryptocurrency drainer. Victims of this scam lose digital assets.

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.

Fake "$COMMON Airdrop" website overview

We discovered this scam on commonchecker[.]xyz, yet it could also be promoted on different domains. It is a close visual copy of Common Protocol's official website (common.xyz) and endorses a free COMMON (the protocol's native token) airdrop. Common Protocol is a platform powered by AI (Artificial Intelligence); it provides an AI-native workspace that enables research, coding, and earning through tokenization.

It must be stressed that this airdrop is fake and in no way associated with the actual Common Protocol or any other existing projects, platforms, or entities.

Once a user connects a digital wallet to the scam webpage, they unintentionally sign a malicious contract. It activates the cryptocurrency drainer – a mechanism that siphons digital assets from exposed cryptowallets.

This activity is automated, and the outgoing transactions may appear innocuous, so they can remain unnoticed for a significant amount of time. Drainers may be capable of roughly estimating the value of digital assets and determining which to steal first.

It has to be mentioned that cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible because of their practically untraceable nature. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "$COMMON Airdrop" website cannot retrieve the stolen funds.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

"Utility Coin ($UTILITY) Vote Rewards", "Utility Coin ($UTILITY) Airdrop", and "Hyperliquid Rewards Program" are merely a few of our latest articles on drainers.

Crypto scams commonly function by employing draining mechanisms to steal from compromised wallets, phishing for wallet log-in credentials, or deceiving users into manually transferring funds to scammer-owned wallets.

The Internet is rife with deceptive and malicious content. While it is often the case that online scams are poorly crafted and riddled with mistakes, they can be competently put together and even convincingly disguised as content associated with genuine entities. Therefore, we strongly advise vigilance when browsing and investing online.

How did I open a scam website?

Cryptocurrency drainers can be endorsed via intrusive pop-up ads – a type of malvertising (malicious advertising). These pop-ups may be fully functional drainers themselves (i.e., capable of executing draining scripts). Advertisements of this kind can be encountered on legitimate websites that were compromised.

Another prevalent promotional technique is social media spam. These posts and direct/private messages can be made using hacked accounts (i.e., ones originally belonging to real entrepreneurs, celebrities, influencers, projects, companies, corporations, etc.). If the endorsed scam aligns with the content ordinarily posted by the account – this creates an incredible impression of legitimacy.

Other endorsement methods are not unlikely. Aside from those already mentioned, online scams are promoted through different types of spam (e.g., forum posts, emails, browser notifications, cold calls/ robocalls, SMSes, etc.), sites using rogue advertising networks (redirects), typosquatting (mistyped URLs), and adware (adverts or redirects).

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

We highly recommend vigilance to ensure your online safety. Be wary of sites, advertisements, and messages making promises that sound too good to be true. Take note of URLs and type them carefully.

Do not use websites offering pirated software/media or other dubious services (e.g., illegal streaming/downloading, Torrenting, etc.), as these pages are usually monetized via rogue advertising networks. Do not permit questionable webpages to deliver browser notifications; ignore or block their notification requests.

Do not open attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant communications (e.g., emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, etc.). Download only from official/verified channels and be cautious when installing (e.g., read terms, study 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 "$COMMON Airdrop" website (GIF):

Screenshot of the official Common Protocol website (common.xyz):

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is "$COMMON 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 deceptive Web content designed to trick users into performing certain actions. For example, victims can be lured into connecting digital wallets to cryptocurrency drainers, sending money to scammers, providing sensitive information, downloading/installing software, buying products, subscribing to services, 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 acquiring funds through deception, endorsing content, abusing/selling vulnerable information, and spreading malware.

I have lost digital assets to a fake "$COMMON Airdrop" website, can I get my money back?

Cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed due to their nearly untraceable nature. Hence, victims of scams like this fake "$COMMON Airdrop" page cannot recover the stolen digital assets.

Why do I encounter online scams?

Prevalent promotional techniques include: sites using rogue advertising networks, intrusive ads, spam (e.g., social media posts, DMs/PMs, emails, browser notifications, etc.), mistyped URLs, and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites for deceptive and malicious content. It can also block all further access to such pages.