Beware of a New Amazon Token Crypto Scam(blog.avast.com)
blog.avast.com
Beware of a New Amazon Token Crypto Scam
https://blog.avast.com/beware-of-a-new-amazon-token-crypto-scam
38 comments
https://web.archive.org/web/20211220051443/https://blog.avas...
What does the conversion rate end up looking like for these scams? Pretending to be major media outlets and stealing Amazon's branding is a compelling scheme, but the "just transfer some ETH to us" seems like a brick wall that would really stop the average person. People seem wary of typing their credit card number into a website, and with a credit card you can call your bank and say "meh I didn't really want the thing I bought" and get your money back. But people have credit cards and know that; with ETH, they probably don't have any laying around. So that seems like it would kill these scams dead.
Maybe the flow for buying ETH is really simple, and these sellers aren't clear that every transaction is irrevocable? So people think they can reverse the transaction later, and are left holding the bag when they get scammed? Or, maybe these scams have such wide appeal that they rope in enough victims that a 99.9% bounce rate on the payment page is still worthwhile?
Maybe the flow for buying ETH is really simple, and these sellers aren't clear that every transaction is irrevocable? So people think they can reverse the transaction later, and are left holding the bag when they get scammed? Or, maybe these scams have such wide appeal that they rope in enough victims that a 99.9% bounce rate on the payment page is still worthwhile?
My parents reached out asking me to help them figure out how to buy this Amazon crypto. They've recently become interested in crypto and so I've been teaching them how it works and how to use it.
Luckily I hadn't taught them anything about eth except how to buy it and how to self-custody it yet.
After seeing how easily they were scammed into believing this was real, I am recommending they steer clear of eth entirely and just stick to learning about bitcoin. Too many (believable) scams on smart contract chains.
The only btc scams I've seen are along the lines of "Send me your btc and I'll double it back for you!" which is obvious even for them.
Luckily I hadn't taught them anything about eth except how to buy it and how to self-custody it yet.
After seeing how easily they were scammed into believing this was real, I am recommending they steer clear of eth entirely and just stick to learning about bitcoin. Too many (believable) scams on smart contract chains.
The only btc scams I've seen are along the lines of "Send me your btc and I'll double it back for you!" which is obvious even for them.
> steer clear of eth entirely and just stick to learning about bitcoin
Although even that isn't so clear cut - you have to educate/warn about Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, and so on.
Although even that isn't so clear cut - you have to educate/warn about Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, and so on.
True. I only told them how to use CashApp which only sells bitcoin.
That’s a good call. Any app that has a curated list of tokens really.
You know, other than the Bitcoin itself.
I feel like they would do rather well - there are so many new crypto "projects" and so many people "investing" in them. Investing in new coins using Eth for purchasing is very normalised in those circles, and people are super hungry for opportunities to enter an ICO.
Most of the people (or people with bots) making any sort of money with these new coins are getting in on the ICO and dumping their coins during the initial peak after public release. The whole thing is like a high frequency pump and dump, and there are large profits to be had for the few who can pull it off, which makes buyers particularly rushed.
The Binance Smart Chain has even more of this going on, it's madness. It's like the wild west of defi.
Most of the people (or people with bots) making any sort of money with these new coins are getting in on the ICO and dumping their coins during the initial peak after public release. The whole thing is like a high frequency pump and dump, and there are large profits to be had for the few who can pull it off, which makes buyers particularly rushed.
The Binance Smart Chain has even more of this going on, it's madness. It's like the wild west of defi.
Yeah, eth is bad enough, but BSC and Solana are where the truly depraved and desperate get-rich-quick victims are. Absolutely brutal.
I have a special immunity to crypto scams. I simply never have and never will purchase any kind of crypto "currency" until someone can articulate, at a bare minimum, one advantage it confers to me over and above "normal" currency in day to day usage. Bonus points if that benefit even comes close to offsetting the environmental carnage the ecosystem wreaks.
It needn't provide an advantage in day-to-day usage, just some niche advantage that works at least once.
For instance, buying metal bullion from a major online vendor such as APMEX, you can avoid credit card fees or long wait for a check/ACH/wire(faster than previous two but still takes hours) to clear by paying in crypto. It's basically <30min clearing for any arbitrary large amount. The closest you can get to that without crypto through most major bullion vendors is a wire, which depending on your bank is anywhere from free (rare) to $25+. Sometimes the crypto fees are waived, other times they're merely much closer to check price than credit price.
For instance, buying metal bullion from a major online vendor such as APMEX, you can avoid credit card fees or long wait for a check/ACH/wire(faster than previous two but still takes hours) to clear by paying in crypto. It's basically <30min clearing for any arbitrary large amount. The closest you can get to that without crypto through most major bullion vendors is a wire, which depending on your bank is anywhere from free (rare) to $25+. Sometimes the crypto fees are waived, other times they're merely much closer to check price than credit price.
If you're buying physical metal and can wait a few days for it to ship, you can wait a day for the ACH payment to clear. Bitcoin is also very volatile, so you can end up losing out on the spread, but not notice it.
> you can wait a day for the ACH payment to clear.
It adds an additional 1-2 days at least to shipping. Do you enjoy having your money gone additional time without any underlying asset in hand, adding to your counterparty risk? This is one of the reasons why Amazon delivery logistics has succeeded, consumers LIKE to have their goods faster. You don't think it's valid that some people use crypto to get their goods a day or two sooner for in many cases essentially the same price (or if they already had crypto, cheaper because they didn't have to convert back to fiat themselves).
>Bitcoin is also very volatile, so you can end up losing out on the spread, but not notice it.
The price in BTC(or LTC, BCH, etc) is locked for 15 minutes when you check out. If BTC or whatever you're using gains value you could merely choose not to execute the trade; when I missed the window there was no penalty it just cancelled the invoice. There's no way you can possibly have an unexpected loss. If you have fiat on an exchange and you needed crypto, you can choose to buy it right then in that 15 minute window to make sure your price is locked in.
It adds an additional 1-2 days at least to shipping. Do you enjoy having your money gone additional time without any underlying asset in hand, adding to your counterparty risk? This is one of the reasons why Amazon delivery logistics has succeeded, consumers LIKE to have their goods faster. You don't think it's valid that some people use crypto to get their goods a day or two sooner for in many cases essentially the same price (or if they already had crypto, cheaper because they didn't have to convert back to fiat themselves).
>Bitcoin is also very volatile, so you can end up losing out on the spread, but not notice it.
The price in BTC(or LTC, BCH, etc) is locked for 15 minutes when you check out. If BTC or whatever you're using gains value you could merely choose not to execute the trade; when I missed the window there was no penalty it just cancelled the invoice. There's no way you can possibly have an unexpected loss. If you have fiat on an exchange and you needed crypto, you can choose to buy it right then in that 15 minute window to make sure your price is locked in.
> locked for 15 minutes
I wonder if there's an arbitrage opportunity, here.
I wonder if there's an arbitrage opportunity, here.
Ok so first I have to incur the CC fees while obtaining the crypto, and then I can avoid them at purchase time (but still have to pay Tx fees / gas / whatever over the top). Cool cool really neat stuff.
LTC has a transaction fee of like 2 cents. Where I am locally you can sometimes find people dumping crypto for cash person to person, if you keep an eye out you can get it at cost. Or on an exchange like Kraken buy for spot + 0.25%. Not my fault you buy crypto in literally the most expensive way possible and then pick something like ETH which has some of the worst transaction costs.
I think crypto folks generally consider the (possibly) getting rich part to be the killer feature.
^^ this, I'm not a crypto maxi, but for what I have seen so far, the main point of all of those coins, is to get earlier, and hope that someone *cough* Elon *cough* pump it , so we can finally escape the rat race.
Could just buy lotto tickets or put $10k on 00. At least those are regulated.
I've been using it for well over 10 years now.
Sometimes I want to spend money on things that I think are morally right, but the credit card companies/paypal won't let me buy.
You can search for lists. I'm doing things that aren't even on most lists (things like buying medication - not drugs - at a discount). A good consumer will never be in that situation, they'll stick to the paths well traveled and stick to whatever laws they happen to think exist and apply to them (often without actually checking those laws or applying civil disobedience to laws they don't agree with).
An independent mind will sooner or later get into situations of wanting to do things that the established corporations don't want you to do and then you'll find out how little you can actually do with your corporate approved currency.
Sometimes I want to spend money on things that I think are morally right, but the credit card companies/paypal won't let me buy.
You can search for lists. I'm doing things that aren't even on most lists (things like buying medication - not drugs - at a discount). A good consumer will never be in that situation, they'll stick to the paths well traveled and stick to whatever laws they happen to think exist and apply to them (often without actually checking those laws or applying civil disobedience to laws they don't agree with).
An independent mind will sooner or later get into situations of wanting to do things that the established corporations don't want you to do and then you'll find out how little you can actually do with your corporate approved currency.
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That immunity will protect you from using all sorts of investment losses from electric cars to typewriters. Until they become mainstream or fail.
I don't think there's much chance of a boom in typewriters...? And I'm not sure how my cryptocurrency skepticism affects investments in electric cars.
Lower fees than wiring money internationally.
But Wise is almost free for int'l transfer and the unbanked can go fuck themselves! /s
I got one even better! Converting transactions that would be international wires, into domestic wires which definitely will occur same day, circumventing multiple levels of potential scrutiny and operator error.
There is no way to quantify how much this has happened using crypto assets.
There is no way to quantify how much this has happened using crypto assets.
Wise handily beats BTC/ETH fees
wait till you read their terms of service of prohibited kinds of business, and that's just at the corporate level that has nothing to do with countries of operation.
the US effectively doubled the supply of normal currency in the past year, other currencies have followed suit. the only thing that has ever doubled in a year about bitcoin is the difficulty of finding new bitcoin.
How is Facebook even approving these ads? Is there any human moderation at all?
I've reported these multiple times in the past month, and they keep popping up from different profiles.
I've reported these multiple times in the past month, and they keep popping up from different profiles.
Avast is famous for bundling spyware into their antivirus products
> These malicious advertisements rely on people’s trust in the Amazon brand and desire to get in early on cryptocurrency initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Gosh. I'm doubly-lucky: I don't trust the Amazon brand further than the end of my nose, and I haven't the slightest interest in ICOs. I don't trust Avast either, but I can't remember why.
Gosh. I'm doubly-lucky: I don't trust the Amazon brand further than the end of my nose, and I haven't the slightest interest in ICOs. I don't trust Avast either, but I can't remember why.
Please don't post low-information, high-indignation comments to HN. They're flamebait, and inevitably point discussions in less interesting, predictable, and nasty directions.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
> I don't trust Avast either, but I can't remember why.
Something about the cure being worse than the disease
Something about the cure being worse than the disease