How to avoid getting scammed by fake "Railgun Rewards" sites

What is the fake "Railgun Rewards" website?

This "Railgun Rewards" scam masquerades as the RAILGUN protocol. It states that users have unclaimed rewards worth over one thousand US dollars. The scam is not associated with RAILGUN. The goal is to deceive victims into exposing their digital wallets 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 "Railgun Rewards" website overview

The scam was discovered on governance-railguns[.]com, but it could also be hosted on other domains. It impersonates the official RAILGUN Privacy System (railgun.org). RAILGUN is a decentralized protocol designed to provide additional privacy to cryptocurrency transactions and dApp interactions on public blockchains.

The fake page states that fees are generated on transactions, and token stakers who participate in governance can claim treasury rewards. Supposedly, the user has unclaimed rewards valued at 1018.18 USD.

It must be emphasized that this reward does not exist, and this scam is in no way associated with RAILGUN or any other existing projects, platforms, or entities.

Linking a digital wallet to the fraudulent webpage signs a malicious contract. It activates the cryptocurrency drainer that then steals funds from the exposed cryptowallet. These outgoing transactions might appear vague and remain unnoticed for a long time. Drainers may be capable of approximating the value of digital assets and prioritizing which to steal first.

It must be mentioned that cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed because of their practically untraceable nature. Therefore, victims of scams like this fake "Railgun Rewards" website are unable to recover the stolen assets.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

We have investigated countless online scams; "EtherLens Rewards", fake "Griffain" website, fake "Photon" website, "Solana (SOL) Multiplier", and "Sol Incinerator Token Burn" are merely some of our newest articles on crypto drainers.

Aside from using draining mechanisms, other prevalent cryptocurrency-specific scam types include social engineering for tricking users into manually transferring funds to scammer-owned wallets and phishing for wallet log-in credentials.

Due to how widespread scams are on the Web and how well-disguised they can be – we strongly recommend exercising caution when browsing and investing online.

How did I open a scam website?

Cryptocurrency drainers are commonly endorsed via intrusive pop-up adverts (a type of malvertising). These pop-ups are fully functional drainers themselves; they entice users into connecting digital wallets by promising incredible benefits. Ads of this kind may even be encountered on legitimate websites that have been hacked.

Another prevalent promotional method is social media spam. These posts and direct/private messages (DMs/PMs) can be made using accounts stolen from real entrepreneurs, celebrities, influencers, projects, companies, and so forth.

Other endorsement techniques are possible. Apart from those described above, online scams are promoted through sites utilizing rogue advertising networks, different types of spam (e.g., emails, browser notifications, SMSes, robocalls/ cold calls, etc.), typosquatting (mistyped URLs), and adware.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

Caution is paramount to ensuring your online safety. Therefore, be wary of websites, advertisements, and messages that make unbelievable promises or urge action against severe threats. Pay attention to URLs and enter them carefully.

Do not use sites offering pirated content or other questionable services (e.g., illegal streaming, downloading, Torrenting, etc.), as these pages typically utilize rogue advertising networks. Do not permit dubious webpages to deliver browser notifications; ignore or block their notification requests.

Do not open attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant emails and other messages. Download only from official/verified channels and be attentive during installation (e.g., read terms, explore options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of supplementary apps, extensions, tools, etc.) – to prevent bundled/hazardous 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 "Railgun Rewards" website (GIF):

Screenshot of the official RAILGUN website (railgun.org):

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Railgun Rewards" 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 content hosted on the Internet. These scams are designed to deceive users into performing specific actions, such as connecting cryptowallets to drainers, making monetary transactions, downloading/installing software, disclosing vulnerable data, buying products, subscribing to services, and so on.

What is the purpose of online scams?

Online scams aim to generate revenue for cyber criminals. These scammers predominantly profit by obtaining funds through deception, promoting content (e.g., websites, products, services, etc.), disclosing/abusing private data, and proliferating malware.

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

No, cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed due to their practically untraceable nature. Therefore, victims of such scams cannot retrieve the stolen funds.

Why do I encounter online scams?

Online scams are most commonly encountered via sites using rogue advertising networks, spam (e.g., emails, PMs/DMs, social media posts, browser notifications, calls, SMSes, etc.), intrusive ads, misspelled URLs, and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to scan visited websites and detect rogue, deceptive, and malicious pages. It can also block all further access to these sites.