How to avoid getting scammed by fake Useless Coin airdrops

What is the fake "Useless Coin Airdrop" website?

While investigating suspect websites, our researchers discovered this fake "Useless Coin" airdrop. This page impersonates the Useless Coin website (theuselesscoin.com) and lures users with an airdrop. The scam operates as a cryptocurrency drainer – by stealing funds from exposed digital wallets.

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 "Useless Coin Airdrop" website overview

We found this fake airdrop on useless-vote[.]com, yet it could be hosted on other domains as well. The webpage imitates Useless Coin's official site (theuselesscoin.com). Useless Coin (USELESS) is a Solana-based memecoin that, as the name implies, possesses no intrinsic use.

It must be stressed that this bogus airdrop is not associated with the Useless Coin or any other existing projects, platforms, or entities.

Once a cryptowallet is connected to the deceptive page, the action signs a malicious contract that facilitates the cryptocurrency drainer. Essentially, the victim's funds are automatically transferred to scammer-owned wallets. These transactions may appear innocuous and remain unnoticed for a long time. Some drainers can approximate the value of digital assets and determine which to prioritize stealing.

It must be mentioned that cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible due to their nearly untraceable nature. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "Useless Coin Airdrop" site cannot recover their funds.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

We have written about numerous online scams; "Turtle Vote Rewards", "Kite Airdrop", and fake "Trade[XYZ]" website are merely a couple of our latest articles on drainers.

Aside from using draining mechanisms, cryptocurrency-targeting scams also operate by phishing for wallet log-in credentials or tricking users into manually transferring assets to wallets in the scammers' possession.

Online scams are notorious for being poorly put together, but they can be competently made and even believably disguised as content associated with genuine entities. Therefore, we strongly advise vigilance when browsing and investing online.

How did I open a scam website?

Online scams are most commonly endorsed through sites using rogue advertising networks (redirects), spam (e.g., emails, PMs/DMs, social media/ forum posts, browser notifications, cold calls/ robocalls, SMSes, etc.), malvertising (intrusive adverts), typosquatting (mistyped URLs), and adware (ads/redirects).

Crypto drainers are often promoted via intrusive pop-up advertisements, which may be fully functional drainers themselves. These pop-ups have even been encountered on legitimate websites that had been hacked.

Social media spam is another prevalent promotional technique. These posts and direct/private messages can be made using accounts stolen from real projects, companies, celebrities, entrepreneurs, influencers, and so forth.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

Caution is essential to your online safety. Therefore, be wary of websites, ads, and messages making promises that sound too good to be true. Pay attention to URLs and enter them carefully. Do not use sites offering pirated content or other dubious services (e.g., Torrenting, illegal streaming/downloading, etc.), as these webpages usually employ rogue advertising networks.

Do not permit questionable pages to deliver browser notifications; ignore or deny these requests (i.e., press "Block", "Block Notifications", etc.). Be cautious with incoming emails and other messages; do not open attachments or links found in suspicious mail.

Download only from official/verified sources and be attentive when installing (e.g., read terms, study options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, etc.) – to prevent bundled/dangerous 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 "Useless Coin Airdrop" website (GIF):

Screenshot of the official Useless Coin website (theuselesscoin.com):

Instant automatic malware removal:

Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Useless Coin 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 scams hosted on the Web, designed to deceive users into performing specific actions. For example, victims can be enticed into connecting digital wallets to crypto drainers, disclosing vulnerable data, making monetary transactions, downloading/installing software, buying products, subscribing to services, and so forth.

What is the purpose of online scams?

The purpose of online scams is to generate revenue for scammers. They predominantly profit by obtaining funds through deception, endorsing content (e.g., sites, products, services, etc.), selling/abusing sensitive information, and spreading malware.

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

No, cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed because they are practically untraceable. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "Useless Coin Airdrop" website cannot get their funds back.

Why do I encounter online scams?

The most prevalent promotional techniques include: spam (e.g., emails, browser notifications, social media posts, PMs/DMs, etc.), webpages utilizing rogue advertising networks, intrusive ads, misspelled URLs, and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites for deceptive/malicious content and restrict further access to them.