Alpha Finance Phishing Site on Google
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Alpha Finance is a DAO which allows users to gain exposure to different projects by holding and staking their ALPHA token. Scammers created a fraudulent website with a very similar name, which was linked prominently as a Google ad. Once users would attempt to connect their wallet, they would be asked for a seed phrase. It is unknown whether any users fell for it.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.[1][2][3][4]
About Alpha Finance
"Alpha Finance Lab is a DeFi Lab, and on a mission to build Alpha Universe. Alpha Universe includes the Alpha ecosystem, which consists of Alpha products that interoperate to maximize returns while minimizing risks for users, and other ecosystems incubated through the Alpha Launchpad incubator program."
"Please make sure you enter our official webpage from our protocol only. Please be aware of scams that try to mimics our dApps, which are very hard to identify without seeing the hyperlink at the top. We have no control over the protection of your assets if it is stolen by these scam websites, so please be very careful."
"Please acknowledge the scams occurring in this industry by checking the hyperlink every time before you make any transaction. For instance, this scam website in the image below even gets advertised on google ads. Alphafinance with FL instead of FI and .com instead of .io"
"The UI of this website is very similar to our website, so please be VERY VERY careful. Do not try to connect your wallet to these websites."
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 |
|---|---|---|
| September 20th, 2021 5:30:00 AM MDT | 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?
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
- ↑ Is Alpha Venture Dao a scam? Or is Alpha Venture Dao legit?' (Jun 29, 2022)
- ↑ @AlphaVentureDAO Twitter (Jun 29, 2022)
- ↑ Alpha Finance Homepage (May 13, 2021)
- ↑ Commonwealth (Jun 29, 2022)