How Not to Fall for a Giveaway Scam

A Fictional Story Based on Real Life

Boris, a young and enthusiastic investment beginner, came across a post on his favorite forum announcing a “huge crypto giveaway.” The offer sounded tempting: receive a large amount of crypto-assets just by sending a small amount to a given address. He gave in to temptation and followed the instructions to join the giveaway.

After sending the crypto-assets as “identity verification,” he realized it was a trap. All the crypto-assets he sent were gone.

Giveaway Scam in 5 Steps

1. The scammer gains control of an account belonging to a famous person or company. This often involves hacking social media accounts, such as Twitter/X.
2. Using the compromised account, they post an announcement offering a quick and easy way to double your investment in crypto-assets—often under the label “Giveaway.”
3. The scammer publishes a wallet address for people to send their crypto-assets to, often mentioning several supported cryptocurrencies.
4. To increase credibility, the scammer uses numerous fake accounts to post fraudulent comments under the post, claiming they successfully received double the amount they sent.
5. Once any crypto-assets are sent to the scammer’s wallet address, the victims almost certainly never get their funds back.

Explanation of the Giveaway Scam

Like many other crypto-related scams, the so-called “giveaway” scam relies primarily on the victim’s emotional decision-making—specifically, greed. In this scam, the fraudster promises to double any amount of crypto sent to a specific wallet and send it back. These scams often include phrases like: “Send 1 ETH and get 2 ETH back.”

The scammer often impersonates a well-known person, celebrity, or representative of a global brand. They aim to exploit social media accounts of such individuals, and there have been several real-life cases where famous accounts were hacked and used for this scam. Celebrities affected by such hacks include Elon Musk, Joe Biden, and Kanye West.

Once the attacker gains access to the victim’s account, they post a wallet address and urge followers to send crypto-assets with the false promise that their funds will be multiplied and returned. However, there is no financial or logical reason for the scammer to do this, and once the assets are sent, they are almost always gone for good.

These scam posts don’t just appear on hacked celebrity or company accounts—they also frequently show up in comment sections under posts or videos related to crypto. Whether it’s on Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook, these types of comments are always fraudulent.

NBS Advice

This type of scam is relatively easy to avoid. Any offer that promises to instantly double your deposit is almost certainly a scam. Giveaway scams also often share the following warning signs:

• Impersonation of a well-known person, celebrity, or company.
• Promises to immediately multiply any deposit.
• Aggressive marketing on social media platforms like Twitter/X, Facebook, or YouTube.
• Public posting of a wallet address to send crypto-assets directly via social media.

If you suspect a scam, contact the Slovak Police (Polícia SR).

Last updated on 25 Mar 2025