Uniswap Doubling Scam: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Imported Case Study|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/uniswapdoublingscam.php}} | {{Imported Case Study 2|source=https://www.quadrigainitiative.com/casestudy/uniswapdoublingscam.php}} | ||
{{Unattributed Sources}} | {{Unattributed Sources}} | ||
[[File:Uniswap.jpg|thumb|Uniswap]]After Uniswap launched a free airdrop giveaway, scammers decided to create a fake giveaway which allegedly doubled the funds of users who sent them UNI tokens. They did this by hijacking a legitimate YouTube channel with 400,000 subscribers and renaming it as Uniswap. It's unclear how many victims fell for the scam. It appears that the original channel creator eventually got their account restored. | [[File:Uniswap.jpg|thumb|Uniswap]]After Uniswap launched a free airdrop giveaway, scammers decided to create a fake giveaway which allegedly doubled the funds of users who sent them UNI tokens. They did this by hijacking a legitimate YouTube channel with 400,000 subscribers and renaming it as Uniswap. It's unclear how many victims fell for the scam. It appears that the original channel creator eventually got their account restored. | ||
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country. | This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.<ref name="cryptopotato-6780" /><ref name="cryptopotato-6839" /><ref name="cryptopotato-6840" /><ref name="youtube-6841" /><ref name="youtube-6842" /><ref name="coinmonksmedium-1086" /><ref name="bloggoogle-6048" /><ref name="ycombinatornews-6843" /><ref name="tekdeeps-6049" /><ref name="hitechglitz-6050" /><ref name="coincunews-6051" /><ref name="ambcrypto-6052" /><ref name="linustechtips-6844" /><ref name="cyberscoop-6845" /><ref name="trendmicronews-6846" /><ref name="lifehacker-6847" /><ref name="wired-6848" /><ref name="pcmag-6849" /><ref name="theverge-6850" /><ref name="cpomagazine-6851" /><ref name="scmagazine-6852" /><ref name="youtube-6853" /><ref name="youtube-6053" /><ref name="youtube-6854" /><ref name="googlesupport-6855" /><ref name="getkidsinternetsafe-6856" /><ref name="theregister-6857" /> | ||
<ref name="cryptopotato-6780" /><ref name="cryptopotato-6839" /><ref name="cryptopotato-6840" /><ref name="youtube-6841" /><ref name="youtube-6842" /><ref name="coinmonksmedium-1086" /><ref name="bloggoogle-6048" /><ref name="ycombinatornews-6843" /><ref name="tekdeeps-6049" /><ref name="hitechglitz-6050" /><ref name="coincunews-6051" /><ref name="ambcrypto-6052" /><ref name="linustechtips-6844" /><ref name="cyberscoop-6845" /><ref name="trendmicronews-6846" /><ref name="lifehacker-6847" /><ref name="wired-6848" /><ref name="pcmag-6849" /><ref name="theverge-6850" /><ref name="cpomagazine-6851" /><ref name="scmagazine-6852" /><ref name="youtube-6853" /><ref name="youtube-6053" /><ref name="youtube-6854" /><ref name="googlesupport-6855" /><ref name="getkidsinternetsafe-6856" /><ref name="theregister-6857" /> | |||
== About Uniswap == | == About Uniswap == | ||
| Line 59: | Line 58: | ||
!Description | !Description | ||
|- | |- | ||
|December 24th, 2020 10:35:00 AM | |December 24th, 2020 10:35:00 AM MST | ||
|Main Event | |Main Event | ||
|Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. | |Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. | ||
| Line 67: | Line 66: | ||
| | | | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Technical Details == | |||
This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited? | |||
== Total Amount Lost == | == Total Amount Lost == | ||
| Line 86: | Line 88: | ||
== Ongoing Developments == | == Ongoing Developments == | ||
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded? | What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded? | ||
== General Prevention Policies == | |||
In general, never give any funds without validating information against the official website of a project. Even in that case, something which sounds too good to be true, and requires a payment or providing sensitive information probably is. Never make a rushed payment under pressure. | |||
== Individual Prevention Policies == | |||
{{Prevention:Individuals:Placeholder}} | |||
{{Prevention:Individuals:End}} | |||
== Platform Prevention Policies == | |||
{{Prevention:Platforms:Placeholder}} | |||
{{Prevention:Platforms:End}} | |||
== Regulatory Prevention Policies == | |||
{{Prevention:Regulators:Placeholder}} | |||
{{Prevention:Regulators:End}} | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
| Line 101: | Line 116: | ||
<ref name="youtube-6842">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS2TrW2v_pk - YouTube] (Mar 5, 2022)</ref> | <ref name="youtube-6842">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS2TrW2v_pk - YouTube] (Mar 5, 2022)</ref> | ||
<ref name="coinmonksmedium-1086">[https://medium.com/coinmonks/how-does-uniswap-work-75765c4640e0 How Does Uniswap Work] (Jun | <ref name="coinmonksmedium-1086">[https://medium.com/coinmonks/how-does-uniswap-work-75765c4640e0 How Does Uniswap Work] (Jun 5, 2021)</ref> | ||
<ref name="bloggoogle-6048">[https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/phishing-campaign-targets-youtube-creators-cookie-theft-malware/ Phishing campaign targets YouTube creators with cookie theft malware] (Jan 26, 2022)</ref> | <ref name="bloggoogle-6048">[https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/phishing-campaign-targets-youtube-creators-cookie-theft-malware/ Phishing campaign targets YouTube creators with cookie theft malware] (Jan 26, 2022)</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 12:42, 2 May 2023
Notice: This page is a freshly imported case study from the original repository. The original content was in a different format, and may not have relevant information for all sections. Please help restructure the content by moving information from the 'About' and 'General Prevention' sections to other sections, and add any missing information or sources you can find. If you are new here, please read General Tutorial on Wikis or Anatomy of a Case Study for help getting started.
Notice: This page contains sources which are not attributed to any text. The unattributed sources follow the initial description. Please assist by visiting each source, reviewing the content, and placing that reference next to any text it can be used to support. Feel free to add any information that you come across which isn't present already. Sources which don't contain any relevant information can be removed. Broken links can be replaced with versions from the Internet Archive. See General Tutorial on Wikis, Anatomy of a Case Study, and/or Citing Your Sources Guide for additional information. Thanks for your help!
After Uniswap launched a free airdrop giveaway, scammers decided to create a fake giveaway which allegedly doubled the funds of users who sent them UNI tokens. They did this by hijacking a legitimate YouTube channel with 400,000 subscribers and renaming it as Uniswap. It's unclear how many victims fell for the scam. It appears that the original channel creator eventually got their account restored.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]
About Uniswap
"Uniswap is an Ethereum exchange, built using smart contracts and liquidity pools, as opposed to the order book of a traditional centralized exchange (CEX), such as Binance. With any Ethereum wallet, users can simply connect to the Uniswap application and effortlessly exchange ERC20 tokens without first sending them to the exchange platform account."
"[T]he popular decentralized token swap platform launched its long-anticipated native token called UNI. The announcement was accompanied by news that Uniswap will airdrop 15% of UNI’s total supply to users who had used it before September 1st. Naturally, this free token rush raised the community’s attention rather rapidly."
"However, it appears that scammers were also keeping a close eye. It didn’t take long, and only a day after the UNI launch, unknown fraudsters initiated a fake UNI giveaway on the most widely-used video-sharing platform – YouTube."
"As reported by CryptoPotato earlier, fraudsters created a fake Uniswap YouTube channel. It carried a live stream video of the protocol’s creator Hayden Adams, in which he allegedly offered to double all UNI tokens sent to his address." "In this case, the scammers created a fake Uniswap YouTube channel that supposedly has over 400,000 subscribers. They also launched a live video displaying 40,000 live viewers with the protocol’s creator – Hayden Adams."
"Lastly, the classic scam is completed by offering to double all UNI tokens sent to a specific address. Meaning, that if users send 250 UNI to their address, the fraudsters promise to send back 500 UNI tokens."
"Somewhat expectedly, it was just a blatant scam as the video was a tape, and Adams didn’t promote any giveaways. Although it wasn’t clear if or how many people have fallen for the scam, such events highlight rising issues."
"Although it sounds like easy money, a more in-depth look reveals several issues and points out that it’s a classic scam. The YouTube channel has only two videos – both carrying the same fraudulent live stream, but the Google-owned platform has taken down the first one."
"Additionally, the videos contain the same repeating old interview with Adams, where he says nothing about giving free UNI tokens. Last but not least, victims that fall for this scam and actually send coins to the provided addresses will not receive anything in return."
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.
The Reality
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:
- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| December 24th, 2020 10:35:00 AM MST | Main Event | Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. |
Technical Details
This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost is unknown.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Total Amount Recovered
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
General Prevention Policies
In general, never give any funds without validating information against the official website of a project. Even in that case, something which sounds too good to be true, and requires a payment or providing sensitive information probably is. Never make a rushed payment under pressure.
Individual Prevention Policies
No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.
Platform Prevention Policies
Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.
Regulatory Prevention Policies
No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.
References
- ↑ Uniswap User Loses $20,000 With a Fake Google Play Store App (Mar 1, 2022)
- ↑ Beware: Fake Uniswap (UNI) Token Giveaways Already Roaming the Internet (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Uniswap Launches Its Dedicated UNI Token: ETH Gas Prices Soar Again (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Nitin Randhawa - YouTube (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ - YouTube (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ How Does Uniswap Work (Jun 5, 2021)
- ↑ Phishing campaign targets YouTube creators with cookie theft malware (Jan 26, 2022)
- ↑ U.S. indicts two men for running a $20M YouTube content ID scam | Hacker News (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ YouTubers beware of fraudsters who offer cooperation (Jan 27, 2022)
- ↑ Hackers are phishing YouTube creators to steal their accounts, Google warns (Jan 27, 2022)
- ↑ Hacked YouTube channels to sell or scam cryptocurrencies - CoinCu News (Jan 27, 2022)
- ↑ Crypto scams live-streamed as YouTube channels face phishing attacks - AMBCrypto (Jan 27, 2022)
- ↑ (PSA) A warning to YouTube creators, scammers have worked out an almost fool proof method of phishing your account - Tech News - Linus Tech Tips (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Scammers targeted YouTube creators to takeover accounts, promote crypto investment fraud - CyberScoop (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ https://news.trendmicro.com/2021/09/10/scams-targeted-at-youtubers/ (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Keep Your Account Safe From the Latest YouTube Phishing Scam (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ How Hackers Hijacked Thousands of High-Profile YouTube Accounts | WIRED (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Hackers Are Phishing YouTube Creators to Steal Their Accounts, Google Warns | PCMag (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Google details extensive phishing campaign targeting YouTubers - The Verge (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/phishing-campaign-targets-youtube-creators-with-cookie-stealing-malware-to-hijack-accounts-and-stream-cryptocurrency-scams/ (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Cookie-swiping phishing scam steals YouTube channels from their creators | SC Media (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Don’t Fall for YouTube Email Phishing Scams! - YouTube (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ New Sponsorship Scam Targeting YouTubers. Creators Be Aware! - YouTube (Jan 27, 2022)
- ↑ New Phishing Scam Targeting Content Creators - Be Alert - YouTube (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Spam, deceptive practices, & scams policies - YouTube Help (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ YouTube Celebrity Scams - GetKidsInternetSafe (Mar 5, 2022)
- ↑ Scam-baiting YouTube channel Tech Support Scams taken offline by tech support scam • The Register (Mar 5, 2022)