Warning: Scammers Use ForkLog and CoinDesk Brands to Trick Users Out of Their Money

News and Analysis
19.02.2020

Disclaimer: ForkLog is not engaged in any exchange services and does not provide any trading consultations. The list of ForkLog’s social media is available on the official website.

Scammers name-steal ForkLog’s brand to deceive our readers and trick users out of their money. They do not only mislead regular users but even top managers of certain exchanges.

ForkLog was contacted by several readers who had been scammed by the name-stealers using ForkLog to cover their sting.

One of the readers named Dmitri said that Telegram user @ZabotkinOTC asked him to sell AKRO coins using an escrow account in a group named ForkLog OTC.

«@ZabotkinOTC created a group for the transaction. I sent the money to the escrow account and paid a 1% fee. The transaction’s amount was $850. The buyer claimed to have transferred USDT to my wallet (before that, he had demonstrated a wallet with some assets) but the balance never changed. I wrote in the group that I had not received any money. But @ZabotkinOTC said that he has sent my tokens to the buyer already. The buyer said “Bye” and left the group,” Dmitri said.

The reader wrote ZabotkinOTC that it was purely his fault. ZabotkinOTC promised to return the money in a week but eventually blocked Dmitri and removed all information from the group.

“I think he stole the coins himself, directly,” Dmitri concluded.

ForkLog has contacted Telegram’s support on numerous occasions asking to delete ForkLog OTC, however, the administration refused to take any action. Right now, the group is unavailable but it may resurface again.

“Telegram and the internet as a whole saw lots of fake groups and scammers trying to act on behalf of ForkLog. Unfortunately, in the case of Telegram, their support is no good and almost never reacts to such claims saying that as long as there is no direct scam, they cannot block accounts and groups. Still, even after very direct scam, they only mark such groups as suspicious never going beyond that. This particular case has a lot to do with the unsatisfactory customer service on the part of the Telegram team,” ForkLog founder Toly Kaplan commented.

Scammers also comment on official ForkLog posts on social media every now and then. We have removed thousands of comments about giveaways of shady tokens that ForkLog allegedly was conducting.

On top of that, in March 2018, scammers made a mirror of ForkLog to deceive Telegram ICO investors.

Be cautious! Always make sure to check the accounts and emails from which you get messages under the name of ForkLog. Information on giveaways, if any are conducted, is published only on the official website. The editorial board is not responsible for scams pulled under the guise of ForkLog. We make our best efforts to shut down fake groups.

Notably, it is not the only instance of a name-stealing scam in recent months. The editorial board of CoinDesk, a renowned crypto-media outlet, has also reported a scam using its brand.

The scammers looked for start-up representatives on Telegram and LinkedIn and promised to publish a feature on their project in exchange for money posing as writers and editors.

As proof of their genuineness, they faked CoinDesk’s email addresses and even the editor’s passport scan. CoinDesk said there were at least two victims who had paid thousands of dollars to the scammers in BTC and ETH and contacted us only when they realized something was off.

Never send any money without checking all the details and making absolutely sure you are talking with a real representative of the editorial board. If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to contact us at newsroom@forklog.com or write a message on social media.

Be cautious! Here is the full list of all official ForkLog groups and accounts on social media:

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