With his today tweet, Elon Musk unintentionally boosted the popularity of scams that exploit the controversial PSYOP token from notorious memecoin issuer Ben.eth.
The Twitter account of AegisWeb3, a blockchain security product from PeckShield, warned crypto users of the unexpected impact of Musk’s tweet, which says "I wake up, there is another PSYOP."
Read also: LOYAL investors disappointed by Ben.eth's new token airdrop
"Beware of scammers exploiting Elon Musk's mention of PSYOP in a recent tweet, resulting in its popularity. Counterfeit PSYOP tokens are circulating. Protect your investments and stay vigilant," AegisWeb3 tweeted today.
"A large-scale psyop, or psychological operation driven by the mass media, refers to a deliberate effort to influence the beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors of a large audience through the strategic use of media channels," Twitter user Anthony explained the possible meaning of the mysterious post from the famous entrepreneur.
Read also: eToro brings real-time stock, crypto data to Twitter users
Unfortunately, the post was exploited by scammers who have reportedly already issued a new token.
Earlier this week, AegisWeb3 also shared recommendations to help crypto users avoid memecoin scams. The team suggests analyzing details about the project’s deployer and refraining from investing if they use the tools from CoinFactory, a suite of white-label platforms and products designed to significantly reduce the time-to-market of blockchain projects. AegisWeb3 did not specify the reason why this is a red flag. However, the issue may be not in the suite itself but in the support malicious actors can get in launching their tokens with minimal effort.
AegisWeb3 also told not to pay for tokens if their issuers "have a history of rug pulls," and "their funds originate from scam token deployers." AegisWeb3 stressed the importance of staying away from purchasing tokens whose price has already been manipulated by their issuers.
Meanwhile, Ben. ETH also used Musk’s post to promote his PSYOP token, interpreting the tweet to his followers as the confirmation of Musk's support for his memecoin project.
While the original PSYOP coin as well as its issuer have many supporters on Twitter, there are also many crypto users who strongly oppose this project. According to Mike Kanovitz, the founding partner of the law firm Loevy and Loevy, many investors lost money on the PSYOP presale. The attorney announced in May that he would file a class action lawsuit against Ben.eth and promised to sue his allies too. Shortly after that event, a major conflict erupted between Ben. ETH and crypto blogger Ben Armstrong aka BitBoy Crypto, who rashly parted ways with the PSYOP creator.
Read also: BitBoy Crypto "completely separates from Ben.eth"
"Ben. ETH is now blocked. Also, anyone with an orange square will be blocked. At this point, if you don’t know who the good guy and villain are by now, you never will. The coin will be left standing long after his downfall," Armstrong warned his Twitter followers yesterday, while Ben.eth claims BitBoy owes him $250,000 for the BEN deal, another memecoin project.
