NEO Holders Fall Victim to a Phishing Scam

Earlier this year, NEO announced the transition to a new blockchain with its own genesis block. The updated network features an optimized smart contract system, enhanced stability, and numerous infrastructure improvements. Token holders will have to swap their tokens to new ones on NEO 3.0 as the mainnet goes live in the second quarter of 2020.

How the Scam Works

As the community is waiting for the transition, scammers are trying to trick NEO users by luring them to swap their coins on a fake NEO 3.0 website. The fraudsters invite NEO holders to an “official website of the project” and mislead them into providing their private keys to a phishing wallet under the guise of a token swap. @NEO_Blockchain warned holders about the scam and explained that the token swap has not started yet. Moreover, the team has yet to define the timeline and the mechanism of the swap.No actions on users’ part will be required until mid-2020, at the earliest.

SCAM ALERT: Fake website regarding NEO3.0 spotted! There is no token swap scheduled on NEO currently. Do exercise discretion when you are asked to share your private key. For official updates, visit our webpage https://t.co/ZG8NVtTuRz, and official twitter@NEO_Blockchain pic.twitter.com/uLScz7mbZe

— Neo Smart Economy (@Neo_Blockchain) June 17, 2019

How to Protect Yourself

Scammers tend to be very inventive in their tricks. Thus, the fake website looks very similar to the NEO website and contains real information about the upcoming update. However, the token swap data is false and it links to a phishing web wallet. The private keys of users that used this scammy wallet are likely to be stolen — and their coins are likely gone forever. As always, users should remain vigilant and double check the information via official NEO communication channels. Also, never send your private keys or personal information to anyone. Have you ever fallen victim to a phishing scam? How do you protect yourself from being scammed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.