On March 16, Ethereum L2 scaling solution Arbitrum announced the launch of its governance token ARB. The plan of the Arbitrum Foundation and the network's DAO governance to give away 12.75% of the token initial supply via an airdrop on March 23 has attracted multiple scammers who are actively trying to deceive crypto users through phishing.
Read also: The beginner’s guide to choosing the best Arbitrum bridge in 2023
"Don't get scammed; Airdrop hasn't begun yet, read below for more details and only follow trusted links," the Arbitrum team warned the crypto community, stressing the importance of following only trusted links. Meanwhile, the anti-phishing solution Scam Sniffer detected 273 Arbitrum-related scam websites on March 17.
Several blockchain security companies have also warned customers about fake websites pretending to be the official website of ARB airdrop.
Yesterday, CertiK tweeted about a fake Arbitrum Twitter account currently promoting ARB airdrop. Redefine, another Web3 security firm, reported that scammers are requesting access to users' funds through a phishing website, which can potentially drain a wallet.
Reddit users are also alerting the crypto community of an increasing number of scams that take advantage of the upcoming ARB airdrop. One of the Reddit users, CryptoMaximalist, posted a detailed description of such scams.
According to the post, the scammers seem to prefer Twitter to create fake Arbitrum profiles with fraudulent addresses and often demand access to a MetaMask wallet. To spread their scam, malicious actors invest in multiple Twitter and Reddit accounts.
CryptoMaximalist advises crypto users to hover over the link in the posts about the Arbitrum airdrop. These links may appear valid and trick users into thinking that they will be redirected to the official airdrop website. When hovering over such a link, the real address is displayed.
Another valuable recommendation from CryptoMaximalist is to check the user's profile, which in most cases does not show any organic activity. Most likely, the history will be empty and unrelated to crypto. Other warning signs are aggressive advertisements with tight deadlines promising unrealistic returns on investments.
Read also: GMX or Mycelium? Choosing the best platform for derivatives trading on Arbitrum
"A scammer might not have any of these red flags, but if you see these red flags it's certainly time to be very, very suspicious. If you are looking for information about something like Arbitrum's airdrop, use their official website. If you are involved with Arbitrum, it's probably a good idea to have bookmarked their website, otherwise, you may search for it later and click a phishing ad by mistake," CryptoMaximalist warned fellow Redditors.
Meanwhile, Arbitrum believes its governance token will help balance decentralization and the need for centralized intervention, which is critical for maintaining the network's upgradeability, and will allow developers to enhance the infrastructure and quickly patch identified vulnerabilities.
