How to recognize fake "tradecat Airdrop" websites

What is the fake "tradecat Airdrop" website?

Our research team found this fake "tradecat" airdrop while investigating suspicious websites. The purpose of this scam site is to deceive users into exposing their digital wallets to a crypto drainer. In other words, victims have their digital assets stolen by an automated mechanism.

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 "tradecat Airdrop" website overview

We discovered this scam on register-tradecat[.]live, but it could be promoted on other domains as well. The fraudulent webpage states that early adopters and community members have a limited-time opportunity to participate in a tradecat airdrop. It must be emphasized that this airdrop is fake and in no way associated with any existing projects, platforms, or entities.

When a user attempts to claim the tokens, they are prompted to connect their cryptowallet. By doing so, they unintentionally sign a malicious contract that facilitates the cryptocurrency drainer.

Essentially, the victim's funds are stolen through automated outgoing transactions. This activity may appear vague and remain unnoticed for a long time. Crypto drainers might be capable of approximating the value of digital assets and determining which to prioritize stealing.

It must be mentioned that cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible due to their nearly untraceable nature. Hence, victims of scams like this fake "tradecat Airdrop" webpage are unable to retrieve their funds.

Cryptocurrency drainer scam examples

We have analyzed countless online scams; "Polly Penguin ($POLLY) Airdrop", "$OILCOIN Airdrop", and "MegaETH Frontier Rewards" are just a couple of our latest articles.

Cryptocurrency-targeting scams have three primary modes of operation: using draining mechanisms to steal assets from exposed wallets, phishing for wallet log-in credentials, and deceiving victims into manually transferring funds to scammer-owned wallets.

The Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content. Online scams may be competently constructed and even believably disguised as affiliated with genuine entities. Therefore, we highly recommend vigilance when browsing and investing online.

How did I open a scam website?

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

Cryptocurrency drainers are often endorsed through intrusive pop-up adverts, which may be capable of executing draining scripts. These advertisements have been encountered on legitimate sites that had been compromised.

Another widespread promotional technique is social media spam. Posts and private/direct messages endorsing this content can be made using hacked accounts (i.e., ones originally belonging to real projects, companies, entrepreneurs, influencers, celebrities, etc.).

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

Caution is paramount to online safety. Therefore, be wary of websites, advertisements, and messages that make unbelievable promises or urge immediate action against severe threats. Take note of URLs and enter them with care.

Do not use sites 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 questionable websites.

Do not open attachments or links present in suspicious/irrelevant mail. Download only from official/verified channels and be vigilant during installation (e.g., study terms and options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of additional apps, extensions, etc.) – to prevent harmful software (such as 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 "tradecat Airdrop" website (GIF):

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is "tradecat 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 content hosted on the Internet. These scams are designed to deceive users into performing certain actions, such as connecting digital wallets to crypto drainers, disclosing private information, sending money to scammers, downloading/installing software, and so on.

What is the purpose of online scams?

The purpose of online scams is to generate revenue at the expense of their victims. Scammers predominantly profit by acquiring funds through deception, promoting content, abusing/selling sensitive data, and proliferating malware.

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

No, cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed because they are practically impossible to trace. Therefore, victims of such scams cannot get their digital assets back.

Why do I encounter online scams?

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

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from online scams?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can scan visited websites and detect rogue, deceptive/scam, and malicious pages. It can also deny all further access to these sites.