How to avoid getting scammed by fake "ZERA Distribution" pages

What is the fake "ZERA Distribution" website?

"ZERA Distribution" is a scam that impersonates Zera Labs' official website. The impersonator page states that eligible users can claim rewards. The purpose of this scam is to deceive victims 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 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 "ZERA Distribution" website overview

We discovered this scam on zeralabs[.]xyz; however, it could be hosted on other domains as well. This webpage masquerades as Zera Labs' official website (zeralabs.org). Zera Labs is the company behind the ZERA privacy protocol that aims to create a cash-level privacy for digital currencies. The scam page states that eligible wallets can claim rewards worth one million ZRA tokens.

It must be stressed that the information on this website is false, and the scam is not associated with the ZERA protocol, Zera Labs, or any other existing projects, platforms, or entities.

When a cryptowallet is connected to the site, the action signs a malicious contract. It facilitates the cryptocurrency drainer – a mechanism that steals funds from exposed digital wallets. The outgoing transactions are automated and may appear vague, thus they can remain unnoticed for a long time. Drainers may be able to approximate the value of digital assets and determine which to prioritize stealing.

It must be mentioned that cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed because they are practically untraceable. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "ZERA Distribution" page cannot recover their assets.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

We have investigated thousands of online scams; "$COMMON Airdrop", "Evaa Protocol Airdrop", and fake "Stable Registration Reward" website are merely a few of our latest articles on drainers.

Aside from using draining mechanisms, crypto scams commonly operate by deceiving victims into manually transferring assets to scammer-owned wallets and by phishing for wallet log-in credentials.

These scams may be competently crafted and convincingly disguised as content associated with legitimate entities. They may even utilize perfect visual copies of existing sites. Therefore, we highly recommend vigilance when browsing and investing online.

How did I open a scam website?

Online scams are primarily promoted through malvertising (intrusive ads), spam (e.g., emails, PMs/DMs, social media posts, browser notifications, cold calls/ robocalls, SMSes, etc.), webpages utilizing rogue advertising networks (redirects), typosquatting (mistyped URLs), and adware (adverts/redirects).

Crypto drainers are often endorsed via intrusive pop-up advertisements. These pop-ups may be fully functional drainers themselves and entice users into connecting cryptowallets by promising incredible benefits. These ads have even been encountered on legitimate sites that had been hacked.

Another widespread promotional technique is social media spam. These posts and private/direct messages can be made using accounts stolen from real projects, companies, organizations, celebrities, influencers, and so on.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

Caution is paramount to online safety. Therefore, be wary of sites, ads, and messages making unbelievable promises or warning about detected threats. Pay attention to URLs and enter them carefully.

Do not use websites offering pirated programs/media or other dubious services (e.g., Torrenting, illegal streaming/downloading, etc.), as these webpages typically employ rogue advertising networks. Ignore or block browser notification requests from suspicious sites.

Be vigilant with incoming emails and other messages; do not open attachments or links present in suspicious/irrelevant mail. Download only from official/verified sources and be attentive when installing (e.g., study terms and options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of additional apps, extensions, etc.) – to prevent bundled/hazardous software 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 "ZERA Distribution" website (GIF):

Screenshot of the official Zera Labs website (zeralabs.org):

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is "ZERA Distribution" 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 Internet content aiming to trick users into performing certain actions. For example, victims can be enticed into connecting digital wallets to crypto drainers, disclosing vulnerable data, sending money to scammers, purchasing products, downloading/installing programs, etc.

What is the purpose of online scams?

Online scams are designed to generate revenue for scammers. They predominantly profit by obtaining funds through deception, promoting content (e.g., sites, products, services, software, etc.), selling/abusing private information, and distributing malware.

I have lost digital assets to a fake "ZERA Distribution" website, can I get my money back?

Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible due to their nearly untraceable nature. Hence, victims of such scams cannot recover the stolen funds.

Why do I encounter online scams?

Online scams are mainly endorsed via spam (e.g., emails, social media posts, PMs/DMs, browser notifications, calls, SMSes, etc.), webpages using rogue advertising networks, intrusive adverts, mistyped URLs, and installed adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites and detect rogue, deceptive, and malicious pages. Additionally, it can restrict all further access to webpages of this kind.