Scam Alert: DeepSeek Scammers Exploit Novice Crypto Users
In addition to decreasing the stock market and the price of Bitcoin, the abrupt ascent of DeepSeek, an inexpensive and effective Chinese AI model, has led to the development of dozens of fake meme coins and impostor websites that aim to defraud cryptocurrency consumers. Crypto security company Blockaid reported that in the last 24 hours alone, more than 75 fake cryptocurrencies claiming to be DeepSeek tokens have gone viral, mostly on Ethereum and Solana.
DeepSeek is completely unrelated to cryptocurrency and has never issued a token. DeepSeek also warned its users about the issue on its official X account. Scammers, however, have probably been encouraged by the recent success of tokens associated with AI-related projects to presume that traders seeking to capitalize on the DeepSeek buzz will draw the connection between AI and crypto and not inquire further.
It’s not hard to imagine how a trader who’s not following closely might be led to think that this is a real thing,
Oz Tamir, a security researcher at Blockaid
Trump’s Meme Coin Sparks Crypto Frenzy, Boosting Scam Risks
President Donald Trump’s introduction of his own meme coin earlier this month, according to Tamir, further fueled the flames. According to the researcher, the extraordinary act of a current US president developing their own cryptocurrency token has greatly increased the legitimacy of fictitious reports of significant corporations and individuals starting such initiatives. With cryptocurrency experiencing a resurgence and prominent public figures like Trump exposing risky areas of the industry, such as the meme coin market, to previously unheard-of levels of visibility, a storm may now be significantly raising the already high risk of phishing and scams related to cryptocurrency.
It can help scammers get away with schemes that would’ve been easy to spot in previous cycles,
Tamir
Uniswap and DexScreener Team Up with Blockaid to Combat Fake DeepSeek Tokens
To trick unwary victims, some DeepSeek imposters have gone to extraordinary lengths. For instance, one website asks users to connect their cryptocurrency wallets, and it seems like a complete, functional duplicate of the actual DeepSeek software. By doing this, the website’s developers would be able to take all of the money out of the wallet right away.
However, it’s possible that a large number of potential victims of these frauds are also not very experienced in navigating the intricate realm of decentralized money, which may be advantageous. Uniswap and DexScreener are popular sites for finding and researching meme coins, even though the majority are issued on public blockchains and cannot be removed or banned. Both platforms have joined forces with Blockaid to make sure scam tokens are not displayed in user search results.
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