Despite dawn of meme season on crypto market, scammers are still around
Investors in the meme cryptocurrency PEPE should be on high alert. Recently, it was discovered that unscrupulous entities are using deceitful tactics to defraud PEPE holders, specifically through doctored Etherscan screenshots. This underhanded strategy is designed to make it appear as if the deployer of PEPE is involved in scam activities, thereby sowing confusion and mistrust within the community.
The meme coin with Twitter handle @serdegen0x has reportedly amassed 10 Ethereum (ETH) through a presale, following which the tweet about the transaction was deleted. This act is a classic example of the scam presale scheme, where scammers hype up a cryptocurrency to increase its value artificially.
Careful @serdegen0x is photoshopping Etherscan screenshots to make it look like the PEPE deployer is involved with his scam.
They pocketed 10 ETH from the presale and then deleted the tweet.
Account had me blocked by default as well. pic.twitter.com/Phao7AycDN
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) May 18, 2023
Unfortunately, the PEPE investor community has been identified as an easy target, likely due to its tendency to engage in risky projects. This propensity has, unfortunately, painted a target on their backs for scam artists to exploit.
Apart from doctored screenshots, scammers can use various deceptive strategies to dupe unsophisticated PEPE investors. One such method is the “rugpull” scam, where developers abandon a project after raising substantial funds, leaving investors stranded with worthless tokens. Another scheme is the “honeypot” scam, which involves creating a token that investors can buy but cannot sell.
In markets like the one we are witnessing now, meme coins and the projects tied to them are most likely scams created for one reason only: to steal the funds of users without giving anything in return. Even if a project manages to gather millions from presales or initial offerings, it will most likely use one of the aforementioned schemes to cash out without actually following an initial roadmap.