Scam Alert Round-Up: We Grow Bitcoin, Ethereumchamber and Ethereum Project
Accusations has surfaced suggesting that the two MLM projects “We Grow Bitcoin” and “Ethereum Project” as well as the ERC20-token wallet service provider “Ethereumchamber” are outright scams – among many others.
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We Grow Bitcoin and Ethereum Project Promises Profits and Philantrophy
Earlier this week New Zealand news outlet Newshub warned citizens against the pyramid scheme ‘We Grow Bitcoins’, which has attracted investments from over 1300 members internationally.
We Grow Bitcoins encourages users to make a ‘donation’ of 0.01BTC and sign up 5 additional members to the company, each of whom ‘donate’ 0.01BTC to the referrer. Users are then encouraged to sign up more users and donate larger sums in exchange for promised monthly returns of up to 62 BTC. Predictably, members never see the promised returns and are left with the shame of having signed up others to the scam.
We Grow Bitcoins’ business model is not unique. The unfortunate penetration of Multi-Level-Marketing scams into the cryptocurrency sphere has seen many of these fraudulent pyramid schemes attempting to lure inexperienced cryptocurrency users – with Ethereum Project being amongst the most recent to surface.
Ethereum Project makes unverified claims of association with Choice Humanitarian – a charitable organization whose primary mission is to provide greater funding and resources to communities in the developing world struggling to tackle issues of malnutrition, potable drinking water, underdeveloped educational and health-care facilities and infrastructure.
Ethereum Project claims that a portion of all ‘donations’ will go to Choice Humanitarian, an unlikely claim designed to foster an illusion of philanthropy. Underneath the veneer of charity, Ethereum Project is a generic MLM pyramid scheme that entices users with unrealistic potential returns in exchange for affiliate sign-ups, stimulating their victim’s appetite for greed before relieving them of their coiffures.
Scam Site Hosted the Official Music Video for Juicy J’s ‘Blue Bentley’ Single
Also, according to recent online accounts, the web domain ethereumchamber.net has been used to steal the private keys of unsuspecting customers. After the scam was revealed the site started hosting the official music video for Juicy J’s ‘Blue Bentley’ single – an apparent jest at those who fell victim to the malicious fraud.
Ethereumchamber has disappeared as quickly as it emerged, following a brief wave of sponsored publicity hosted on many leading Bitcoin and cryptocurrency media outlets, blogs, and websites.
“Theft is illegal. We don’t condone illegal activities. Lol” – EthereumChamber
Rumors of the scam first emerged from MyEtherWallet.com, who tweeted stating “CONFIRMED: Ethereum Chamber is stealing your private keys. DO NOT USE”. Ethereum news website ethnews.com contacted Ethereumchamber regarding the allegations in recent days, only to receive the following response – “Theft is illegal. We don’t condone illegal activities. Lol”
Unfortunately their press release slipped through also news.Bitcoin.com:s strict vetting system due to an internal misunderstanding, and was published among other press releases for about 42 minutes before the mistake was noticed, and the press release was immediately retracted. Most sites and projects get their share of scam accusations, whether true or not. Still, mishaps like these are very rare at Bitcoin.com, but they are part of the reason press relases include a disclaimer. It reads;
“This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release.
Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.”
Imperative to Educate Oneself About Best Practices Regarding Securing, Managing and Storing Tokens
Events like these highlight the need for participants in the cryptocurrency ecosystem to practice due diligence and great caution when considering employing third party companies to assist in the management of any cryptocurrency portfolio. The recent heightened mainstream media exposure of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies has inevitably attracted the attention of conmen, in addition to new users.
Although cryptocurrency technology may seem overwhelming and intimidating to some, it is imperative that new users take the steps required to educate themselves about best practices regarding securing, managing and storing their tokens, and to exercise caution before sending cryptocurrency to any company or individual.
Click here to read Bitcoin.com:s “Your Guide to Avoiding Bitcoin Fraud”. Best practices are applicable to most so called altcoins, and other copies of Bitcoin.
Have you ever fallen victim to a Bitcoin scam? Share your experiences below!
Images via Shutterstock.
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