[SCAM ALERT] Complex of sites for 3X NEAR Airdrop SCAM

[shiftshapr]

Hi all

We have got to stop this for the sake of the Ecosystem & Web3!

I am somewhat embarrassed to say this but I fell for a massive scam around the NEAR ecosystem. I believe this scam could have massive ramifications for the ecosystem, and especially onboarding newcomers, if unaddressed. It certainly is devastating for me, and I am only writing in the hopes that other newcomers do not have this experience. I also think this is harbinger of what is to come for potentially all Web3 projects. I could be wrong, but IMHO scams are an existential threat for Web3.

There is a massive scam around the NEAR ecosystem that involves a parallel social infrastructure that includes multiple websites, telegram, YouTube, and probably more that I don’t know about. The scam is for airdrop to supposedly reward the ecosystem where you send NEAR and they send you back 3x, but of course you never receive anything.

The sites include:
https://get-near.org
https://buy-near.org
https://3x-near.org

- YouTube

Plus fake NEAR protocol telegrams
E.g., Telegram: Contact @nearprotocoI

To be clear, this is not NEAR’s fault. There is a deficiency in the way the Web is structured that makes this possible and very challenging to stop Web3 scams if we continue to see the web as a flat static 2D construct. If we see the web as simply one layer, the scammers are in control. Case in point, I found a complex of scam sites that are victimizing newcomers to NEAR, and I can’t mark the site. I reported to the site to the NEAR Discord but the sites are still up (it’s difficult to take sites down). When I wrote scam in one Telegram group, it was taken down in 2 seconds, multiple times. I reported the group to Telegram but its still up. I sent the message to their other NEAR Protocol Official telegram, and I was instantaneously banned by a bot.

So my only option to help is to post a message here and hope that someone sees it that can escalate this and somehow figure out how to get all of these taken down so that other people do not get victimized.

But there is another way, and I am writing a book on it called The Metaweb: The Next Level of the Web. I have even wrote about it here but very few people saw them.

[PROPOSAL] The Metaweb Book UPDATED

[cover_01-2 (1)] Wallet: shiftshapr.near I am writing a book called the Metaweb: The Next Level of the Internet. It is about a new layer on top of the web that creates decentralized public space above the web page, which will drastically reduce the problems with false information, abusers, and scammers, as well as enable an unprecedented level of connection and coordination that is necessary to deal with our existential threats. This will be a physical book. It will also be the first “metabo…

Web3 wrapper for Metaweb Book Project

[Front_Cover_01] Hola writer-fam I am thinking about a Web3 project around a book I am writing called The Metaweb: The Next Level of the Internet. The book is about creating a meta layer on top of the web that enables us to deal with the seemingly intractable problems of today’s web (scams, abuse, false information) and supports the unprecedented levels of connection, coordination, and collaboration needed to address our existential threats. I am under contract with renowned publisher Taylor &…

This book posits that we need a meta layer over the web that enables people, information, and interactions to have a presence over web pages. With this is in place, a web page could be “marked” if it had scammed a single person. It would take control away from the scammers and give it to the community in the form of decentralized public space above the webpage.

I am building this with Presence DAO in case you are interested.

Presence DAO Weekly Update: April 20, 2022

Update for Presence DAO We got the DAOcubator $10000 grant last week. Still waiting for it to hit our DAO treasury We got notified that our second patent - this one for on-page presence - is approved and all we need to do is pay the issuance fee (less than $500) The Metaweb book which features Presence tech is to be published by renowned publisher Taylor and Francis at the end of 2022 [cover_01-2 (1)] The book suggests that we will not be able to solve the problems of today’s web o…

I think NEAR Protocol is the place to bring the Metaweb into being, but have not had any luck in even making a contact with the NEAR Foundation so the jury is still out.

I replied to thread on a scam NEAR wallet about how a meta layer can stop scams but barely anyone saw my reply:

Warning: scam near wallet website

[Screenshot_20220326-124151_Chrome] This is to inform the community that there is a scam near wallet website, which is what you see on First when u search Google. Scam website: https://walletnearo.com/ Original website: https://wallet.near.org/ Pls be careful family

To anyone in the ecosystem, please make sure when dealing with Telegram that you the NEAR Group is the one with the blue verified checkmark.

@David_NEAR

[David_NEAR]

Hey,

Sorry to hear you got scammed, the people running them are relentless and as soon as one is down they release 5 more.

This is a plague which impacts the entire ecosystem, there have been many attempts to put an end to it by many different organisations and individuals. AFAIK, none have been successful.

Maybe your solution could provide some relief, but in the meantime, we need to focus on education. We’ll never stop it all, but what we can do we should do.

[shiftshapr]

Sorry to hear you got scammed

Thanks

the people running them are relentless and as soon as one is down they release 5 more.

Wow, I had no idea it was that bad. I think it is going to be an existential threat to web3.
Those three sites look professional, and to a newcomer to the ecosystem, the appear to be real, especially with the XYZ-near.org urls.

Maybe your solution could provide some relief

With a meta layer in widespread use, after one person sees the scam or gets scammed, the site could be marked and no one further would transact. And we could reward the person who reported it based on the number of people who were saved.

The system I’m building is a platform and could provide some relief but what is needed is a dedicated scam overlay app that protects all of Web3, which could be built on the platform. Let me know if there is anyone in NEAR who might be interested in tech solutions to stopping scams.

but in the meantime, we need to focus on education.

Agreed. Education is super important but its really hard when they create a whole parallel system that is almost indistinguishable from the true NEAR system including YouTube videos from Near Protocol channel, entire NEAR branded feeder web sites, and Near pProtocol official Telegram groups with tens of thousands of users. It’s really hard for me to distinguish any tell tale signs from the sites. And after seeing a YouTube video, a big telegram group, and 2 professional websites all saying that there is NEAR Airdrop, it’s challenging to resist. But resist we must…

We’ll never stop it all, but what we can do we should do.

Agreed

[shiftshapr]

One thing about education is letting people know about current scams and scam sites. Do we have a better way to get this information out?

This post could literally save multiple people hundreds if not thousands of dollars, but only a few people will see this because I am not popular in the community.

[David_NEAR]

@shiftshapr

One thing about education is letting people know about current scams and scam sites. Do we have a better way to get this information out?

I can’t see how much value a repository of scams would add.

Generally, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. We should be educating people on how to identify scams and to always verify should they have any doubts.

A repo for scams would be incredibly hard, if not impossible, to keep up to date.

[David_NEAR]

And it looks like all those scam sites and vids have been pulled down already bar the Telegram(s)

[naveen_in]

@shiftshapr

Do we have a better way to get this information out?

Consider it done tomorrow.

We have a meme community “NEAR MEME DAILY” running in three different languages. We will share about these scam sites via memes on our social media accounts.

You can join us Telegram: Contact @NearMemeDaily in spreading the word.

[David_NEAR]

Since those sites are already down, and I’m sure countless more would pop up, IMO it would be more beneficial to share an educational piece on how to identify scams.

[shiftshapr]

And it looks like all those scam sites and vids have been pulled down already bar the Telegram(s)

Glad they’re down. I posted on the NEAR Discord scams channel the same day I posted here.

Since those sites are already down, and I’m sure countless more would pop up, IMO it would be more beneficial to share an educational piece on how to identify scams.

I think that makes a lot of sense.

I went online and did not see any really good stuff about spotting Web3 scams. There was more on Web 2.0 but it mostly was not applicable to what I experienced. That being said, I just did a quick scan. I’ll take another look in the am.

Update: This is the best site I found about spotting a scam: How To Avoid a Scam | Consumer Advice

I think for each component, we need to understand what to look for. Maybe you some ideas. All I know is Telegram (and Twitter?) should be verified.

• Telegram - no blue checkmark
• Youtube - low number of subscribers, short history of videos
• Twitter - no blue checkmark?
• Landing page
• Airdrop page
• Minting page
• Web wallet - wrong url
• Mobile wallet
• Discord

Once we understand that variety on a granular level, we can try to abstract back to some rules of thumb.

Maybe naveen_in you can make memes on how to spot scams!