Alleged Scam on the Horizon: Be Aware of E-mails Offering Crypto Deposits to E-Wallets [Sordid Side of the Internet]

One of the most progressive achievements of the integrated society we live in is the freedom to choose how to earn for living. Forty years ago, eight or twelve hours behind the desk or factory seating was daily mandatory inclusion; entrepreneurship existed in the form of Yeti. At the beginning of the 21st century, only the selected few could have enjoyed the flexibility of the internet, work on the go, or being able to kick off an idea and make some money, while using the rest of a day for, say, spinning some wheels ‘n’ reels. Nowadays, it’s a common thing available to everyone. And it’s a great thing — all of us are free to combine the ways we prefer.

Of course, being ourselves, in time, we forgot a bit about balance and moderation in such a haven. Since our dark side — an omnipresent and faithful companion of the human race since the dawn of time — misses nothing, a new breed of heavies emerged.

Enter online and e-mail scammers.

All of us have been exposed to their ingenuity, in one form or another, for quite some time. But, as technology keep empowering us with new advances and as cryptocurrencies become mainstream, scammers get more sophisticated. We’re not the only one reading high-end psychology content — so do they, learning what buttons to press. Therefore, their methods become more cunning, and we get to be more prone to their attacks than ever.

So…

…when the LCB Network received the cautionary warning a couple of days ago from one of our partners, Extreme Casino, about “the latest global e-mail scam that has been going on,” we thought the heads-up is in order.

Since the whole thing is very fresh and we have only a warning — not the actual scam e-mail — at our possession, you should consider this as nothing more than a safety measure. After all, as any prudent gambler will testify — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The Notice

As Extreme Casino reports, “there has been an e-mail circulating, asking for a certain amount in cryptocurrencies to be deposited to a designated e-wallet.”

To protect the players, having their safety as a priority, Extreme Casino issued a precaution measure.

In an e-mail with a subject Caution to All Players, this online hub informed us that they’ve “never asked any of its players to make the payment to a specified crypto address via e-mail, nor will we ever do that in the future.”

Furthermore, the casino reiterates that all of their players “are aware of the steps necessary to make the payments, as these are clearly stated on our web site.”

[Editor’s note: all quoted text referencing Extreme Casino is verbatim from their original e-mail sent to the LCB Network.]

At the moment of this writing, we do not know how serious this particular threat might be — although the word ‘global’ did pop up — nor do we have any more details.

Aside from kudos to Extreme Casino for such professional reaction…

…this e-mail scam could target not only the gamblers but any other recipient. The reference of ‘steps necessary to make the payments’ may indicate that the e-mail address and domain behind such devious attempts could resemble the credentials of any other interactive casino or business enterprise.

As of January 14, more in-depth and targeted online research on this reported e-mail scam did not result in more informative feedback.

Therefore, if you, by any chance, receive such e-mail notification, the best way to handle it is to click on the Trash icon momentarily and empty your Trash Bin.

On the other hand…

…what makes this one of particular importance is the involvement of cryptocurrencies. At first, this case may resemble one of those things, but the simple fact is that Bitcoin scams are on the rise.

The volume? Well, their influx in 2019 was worthy of the official statement from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States.

Therefore, we’ll use this opportunity to quickly raise awareness about this multi-billion global issue that has found its way into our gambling pastures because, as your Sheltering Sky, we want you not only forewarned but forearmed as well.

Laymen’s Terms of Scams

In a nutshell, as Business Insider reports, in the last year alone “cybercriminals were able to siphon away $4.26 billion from cryptocurrency users and exchanges.”

To put the number into perspective, the total volume of interactive gambling in 2019 in North America was $6.34 billion, according to H2 Gambling Capital data released a couple of days ago (all in; sports betting, casinos, poker, bingo, lotteries, and other games).

So…

…online scammers wiped out 67 percent of the iGaming industry turnover in the United States and Canada. Let that sink in for a moment.

The most common online frauds and scams involve:

• Fake ICO (Initial Coin Offerings), similar to IPO mechanism wherein you get to fund investments or speculations in cryptocurrencies
• Fraudulent Wallets, e.g., phony crypto wallets that, believe it or not, have even been discovered on Google’s Play Store
• Pyramid Schemes (Ponzi)
• Classic Phishing, involving psychological manipulation to reveal your username, password, or billing information
• Impersonation, considered as the most devastating weapon in cybercriminals’ arsenal
• Unregulated Online Brokers that lure clients with enticingly low prices, competitive trading, or quick returns and ask giant commissions on withdrawals (unless they come out with myriad bogus reasons why you cannot do it in the first place)
• Overnight Exchanges and Automated Trading Systems, using shady crypto brokers to change one currency into the other that usually results in ludicrously extended withdrawals, plus massive commissions
• Pump & Dump Online Communities that works similar to real-life practice: scammers inflate the stocks, you buy them, the price plummets, they win, you loose
• Social Media Interactions that serve as honey to the bees for those who omit to use legit communication channels & background checks and rely on social messages, only to later realize they’re at no man’s land
• Fake e-mails, by far the most popular method to rob someone by using legit communication tools that indeed look the way they should, only they’re not what they appear to be, which makes them so disturbing
• Blackmail scam, when someone claims to know something embarrassing to you and demands crypto payments in exchange for keeping it under wraps
• BEC Scammers, known as Business E-mail Compromise schemes that involve e-mails that trick individuals into sending money to the perpetrators.

When you compare these methods with Extreme Casino’s warning, it’s easy to see what makes this case so significant: It indicates to an alleged three-prong attack by scammers that use fraudulent e-wallets, fake-emails, and potential impersonation.

And then, there is a psychological part of the puzzle.

Weaknesses of the Secrets

Imagine for a moment that you receive the following blackmail e-mail (for the record, we’re quoting FTC on this one):

“I know about the secret you are keeping from your wife and everyone else. You can ignore this letter, or pay me an $8,600 confidentiality fee in Bitcoin.”

If you’re an excellently behaving partner, you’ll laugh off the whole thing and trash the message. But, if you’re not, it will make you think. (To our readers from the United States — this scenario represents criminal extortion attempt reportable to local police, the FBI, and the FTC.)

But scammers don’t really know whether you’re faithful or not. They target the quantity, knowing that among 10,000 such e-mails, at least five poor souls will consider complying.

Online scammers don’t care about secrets; they seek potential weaknesses they can exploit.

They also know that none of us is Jeff Bezos, who flatly refused last year to cave in under purported nude photos blackmail from the National Enquirer and went out loud about it in his post at Medium. After all, there’s only one Jeff Bezos in this world.

Putting such psychological warfare into the gambling context, innovative online scammers might go as far as using fraudulent e-wallets, compromised e-mails, and impersonation mixed up with blackmail, and even phishing.

That’s potentially a very stinging haymaker.

Now…

…while professional players or conservative and social patrons won’t even flinch on hypothetical gambling blackmailing e-mail, the compulsive gamblers are particularly vulnerable. They struggle in secrecy, and they would go to great lengths to protect the personal challenges they face, which makes them easy prey. Luckily, there are not many of them.

Then again, a lot of people prefer to keep their gambling proclivities very private, which is precisely the type of weaknesses that online scammers might exploit.

So much about forewarning.

Keep Your Aegis On

Consequently, in the manner telling of the worldwide magnitude of the problem, the U.S. Department of Justice reported last September that 281 individuals had been arrested in America, Nigeria, France, Italy, Turkey, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Japan, Kenya, and Malaysia.

Codenamed Operation reWired, the coordinated four-month effort exclusively targeting BEC scams included the DoJ, U.S. Department of Homeland Security — that would be the Secret Service — U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Postal Inspection Services, the U.S. Department of State, and international partners.

The conspirators stole approximately 250,000 online identities, while the initial estimations on financial losses in 2018 are in the vicinity of $1.3 billion.

And…

…while it might seem as farfetched, let alone fastidious, to try somehow to connect all these dots into potential danger for each of us who play for fun and strive to stay away from global boogiemen, ask yourself this:

What if such scam e-mail was offering deposit-match Bitcoin bonuses in exchange for cryptos transferred to clickable e-wallet?

We can be as careful and prudent as we are. Still, the simple truth is that the majority of us would consider such an offer. At least for a moment. Just as any eSports warrior would do the same regarding useful LoL skins, or any super-cute computer geek would do with some gadgets.

It has nothing to do with gambling but with human nature, and online scammers are perfectly aware of this.

Thus, speaking of forearming, the best possible measuring stick to protect yourself in such a case is this:

If it even remotely sounds too good to be true, it’s most definitely a scam.

Anyone can promise us anything; what makes the difference is the ensuing due diligence we do in a balanced and moderated manner. That’s the whole point of being responsible.

And that’s why Extreme Casino issued a warning and particularly referenced payment steps on their website as the only credible reference point.

In other words…

…boxer loses its fight when it cannot keep its boxing stance any longer. The arms come down, the guard is off, the knockout is imminent. The protection in boxing lies in shoulder muscles. That’s why boxers keep punching wrecking ball ad nauseam — to strengthen those parts of their bodies so they can always protect themselves.

That’s the sole reason you’re reading these lines: To help you keep your guard on.

All right. Let’s spin some wheels ‘n’ reels now.