In a move that could be considered unfair for a newly introduced initiative, scammers are already taking advantage of the just-launched Bitcoin futures trading platform to rip unsuspecting investors of their hard-earned cryptocurrencies.
The attackers created a Medium fake page with the domain as “bakktlaunch.com” which claimed Bakkt’s team officially developed it. The website even published some official details from Bakkt, such as Bakkt’s storage warehouse insured for one hundred and twenty-five million dollars ($125 million) and above, to appear real.
Although the website was a perfect duplication of Bakkt’s official page, however, its activities, as well as the proposals stated in the Medium fake page, was obviously a scam.
Even the scammer’s strategy appeared novice and similar to most scam alerts that we’ve reported at Coinfomania. They provided two different links for the users, one for Bitcoin (BTC) and the other for Ethereum (ETH). Users were to deposit a small amount of the cryptos in their respective addresses to confirm the user wallet address.
Upon the confirmation of the deposit, the fake website said that the user would get free funds back on their wallet in whichever crypto the sent to their (Scammers) wallet address. About 5000 BTC and 10000 ETH was slated for the giveaway to users.
Meanwhile, the platform (Medium) on which the fake website was hosted recognized and suspended the fake Bakkt giveaway site, displaying the usual ‘conducting an investigation’ message on the post at press time.
Despite the fact that there is no recorded activity done on the two wallet addresses designated for Bitcoin and Ethereum, some scam specialists, however, suggested that the link directs to separate wallet addresses once a user clicks it. The idea was to frame the fraudulent nature of the giveaway, according to the specialists.
Crypto Markets Got Bakkt?
The launch of Bakkt held a very significant moment for the crypto communities, as it was the first U.S regulated platform to offer physically-delivered Bitcoin futures trading. While many BTC holders looked forward to the increment in bitcoin price upon the launch, it, however, has had little to no positive effect on the market price.
Instead, the crypto market has dropped significantly following the launch, leading to fresh concerns of market manipulation.
