Luna Giveaway Scam Longjumping_Image_17

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Terra/Luna

Reddit user Longjumping_Image_17 reports that they were tricked into sending 100 LUNA to a giveaway contest on YouTube. There is no indication that any funds have been recovered.

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About YouTube

"Someone created a terra luna youtube channel with an old "live" footage of Do Kwon and details of a LUNA giveaway.

"I was caught at a weak moment, been in bed for a fews days with covid, tired and whatever. It all seemed legit and "too good to be true". Anyway, lost over 100 LUNA."

The Reality

This was a scam involved a YouTube channel posing as Terra Luna and promoting a fake giveaway.

What Happened

Reddit user Longjumping_Image_17 was tricked into believing that there was a Terra/Luna giveaway, and sent a payment of over 100 Luna to a fraudster. They didn't receive any money back.

Key Event Timeline - Luna Giveaway Scam Longjumping_Image_17

Date	Event	Description
January 20th, 2022 3:55:00 AM MST	Incident Posted On Reddit	The Reddit user "Longjumping_Image_17" shared a post on the TerraLUNA subreddit warning others about falling for a giveaway scam and losing over 100 LUNA. They admit to being caught at a weak moment and believing the scam seemed too good to be true. The scam involved a YouTube channel posing as Terra Luna and promoting a fake giveaway. Other users sympathize with the OP's experience and share similar stories. Suggestions are made to be cautious of scams and not to send money or private information to anyone. The importance of staying safe in the crypto space is also emphasized.
January 20th, 2022 4:15:23 AM MST	Reddit Comment	In a comment response to a request to explain what happened in more depth, Longjumping_Image_17 indicates that someone created a Terra/Luna giveaway using old footage of Do Kwon, and tricked them into sending funds there.

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 has been estimated at $8,000 USD.

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

"I got scammed today today by a classic giveaway scam. Never thought I would fall for one.

Not sure if I'm more angry or embarrassed. Not to mention nursing a big loss."

Comments on Reddit

Longjumping_Image_17 provided some additional details in various comments on Reddit. They warn others about falling for a giveaway scam and losing over 100 LUNA. They admit to being caught at a weak moment and believing the scam seemed too good to be true.

Someone created a terra luna youtube channel with an old "live" footage of Do Kwon and details of a LUNA giveaway. Not sure if I'm more angry or embarrassed. Not to mention nursing a big loss.

Reddit Community Reactions

Other users sympathized with Longjumping_Image_17's experience and shared similar stories. Suggestions are made to be cautious of scams and not to send money or private information to anyone. The importance of staying safe in the crypto space was emphasized.

Ultimate Outcome

"What was the wallet address involved in The scam. You can report this so others know"

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

Ongoing Developments

TBD

Individual Prevention Policies

Individuals need to be on the lookout anytime there is a promised reward, especially an instant doubling of funds. Were a celebrity to run a generous promotion where cryptocurrency is given away, there would be no reason to require a large upfront payment to participate, and no reason to run the contest on a different domain name. Never trust a blockchain print-out on an arbitrary website and always check yourself on multiple services to make sure any transactions are real.

Any time that you are promised any profit or benefit in exchange for an initial payment, smart contract approval, or deposit, pay special care as to whether the entity making that offer is trustworthy, actually who they say they are, and has the means to fulfill what they're promising. There are no magic algorithms providing guaranteed returns from trading or mining. Trading on average will lose money. Mining is expensive and complex. No one is going to immediately send back more than you sent them. NFT projects will rarely announce a surprise mint in only a single location. Are you fully prepared for the event your money is kept and nothing is delivered in return?

Every approval on Web3 is an opportunity to lose all of the funds present in your wallet. Take the time to review the transaction in full. Fully check over the balance, permissions, and entire address which you are interacting with. Do not trust that your clipboard or any website front-end is guaranteed to provide an accurate address or transaction status. Always perform a test transaction prior to the first high-value transaction in any session.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Increased education reduces the opportunity for users to be tricked. An industry insurance fund can assist victims.

Never take for granted the limited knowledge of users of your service and their tendency to skip past provided information. It is recommended to design a simple tutorial and quiz for new users which explains the basics of seed phrases, strong password generation, secure two-factor authentication, common fraud schemes, how ponzi schemes work, as well as other risks which are unique to the cryptocurrency space. This tutorial and quiz should ensure their understanding and be a standard part of the sign-up or download process which is difficult or impossible to skip.

Work with other industry platforms to set up a multi-signature wallet with private keys held separately by delegate signatories from seven prominent platforms and services within the industry. Establish requirements for contributions by all platforms and services, designed to be affordable for small platforms yet large enough to cover anticipated breach events. Any breach event can be brought forth by a member platform or a petition of 100 signatures for consideration by the delegate signatories. A vote of 4 or more delegate signatures is required to release any funds, which could partially or fully restore lost funds based on their assessment.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

Increased education reduces the opportunity for users to be tricked. An industry insurance fund can assist victims.

Create a standard tutorial and quiz for all new cryptocurrency participants, which is required to be completed once per participant. This tutorial and quiz should cover the basics of proper seed phrase protection, strong password generation, secure two-factor authentication, common fraud schemes, how to detect and guard against phishing attacks, how ponzi schemes work, as well as other risks which are unique to the cryptocurrency space.

Set up a multi-signature wallet with private keys held separately by delegate signatories from seven prominent platforms and services within the industry. Establish requirements for contributions by all platforms and services within the country, designed to be affordable for small platforms yet large enough to cover anticipated breach events. Any breach event can be brought forth by a member platform or a petition of 100 signatures for consideration by the delegate signatories. A vote of 4 or more delegate signatures is required to release any funds, which could partially or fully restore lost funds based on their assessment.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.