Remove “Yala NFT Giveaway” scam

The “Yala NFT Giveaway” scam refers to a fake giveaway scam hosted on claimnft-yala.org. Scammers have created said website to imitate yala.org, the official website for the Yala DeFi protocol. Malicious actors are using the name of a legitimate crypto platform to steal users’ cryptocurrencies. The legitimate Yala DeFi platform has nothing to do with this scam. The scam “Yala NFT Giveaway” website claims that users can receive free NFTs if they connect their wallets. However, if users connect their wallets to the fake site, they will initiate a cryptodrainer that will steal all the cryptocurrency in the wallet.

 

 

Crypto scams aiming to deceive unsuspecting users into activating crypto drainers in their digital wallets have become increasingly common. We have reported on several of these, such as the Hinkal scam, the HEX Airdrop, the SyncAppFix scam, and the Onyx Goliath Staking scam. Generally, these scams all follow a similar pattern. Malicious actors choose a well-known cryptocurrency platform to mimic and create fake websites that resemble the real ones. To lure potential victims, they execute widespread promotional campaigns, sharing links on various social media channels and using enticing language to promise impressive rewards. Unfortunately, when users engage with these fraudulent sites, they unknowingly activate a crypto drainer, which is a malicious tool designed to stealthily steal all the cryptocurrencies stored in their digital wallets.

These scams are entirely unrelated to the legitimate crypto/blockchain platforms and serve solely as a means for cybercriminals to steal users’ cryptocurrencies. The “Yala NFT Giveaway” crypto is also an example of this. Yala is a Bitcoin-native liquidity protocol that enables Bitcoin holders to earn real yield from DeFi and RWAs without giving up ownership of their assets.

The legitimate Yala DeFi website is yala.org, while the scam operates on claimnft-yala.org. Although the designs of the sites greatly differ, the URL can be similar enough to mislead some users. When users engage with the scam site, particularly if they attempt to claim the free NFTs being promoted, they will be prompted to manually connect their digital wallets. Unfortunately, doing so will unwittingly trigger a crypto drainer, leading to the theft of all cryptocurrencies in the wallet. Transactions from the wallet often happen gradually to avoid detection, and once the transactions are completed, they are irreversible.

Social media sites are full of links to crypto scams

Cryptocurrency scams, such as the “Yala NFT Giveaway”, are frequently promoted on social media, forums, and in the comments sections of crypto articles and videos. Scammers often take advantage of social media platforms, with sites like X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube being particularly popular for scam promotion.

Scammers impersonating well-known people likw Elon Musk on social media is a common scam promotion tactic. Poor moderation on social media platforms like X allows these scams to proliferate, making it a popular platform for malicious scam promotions. In the comments of Musk’s tweets, for example, users can find numerous fake accounts mimicking his profile, generally offering fake crypto giveaways, investment opportunities, and airdrops. While these fake profiles may not be very believable at a closer look (they do not have many posts, have only a small number of followers, etc.), they can easily deceive inexperienced users who do not take the necessary precautions before investing in cryptocurrencies.

YouTube is also popular among malicious actors and scammers. Scammers often try to hijack abandoned channels with a reasonable number of subscribers to lend their scams more legitimacy. They tailor these channels to promote various crypto giveaways and scams, typically hosting livestreams from Tesla events to give the giveaway credibility and displaying messages promoting scams. These scams promise substantial returns for potential investors, making these scams particularly alluring to vulnerable and novice crypto investors.