Scammers have now taken advantage of upcoming projects in the Shiba Inu ecosystem to scam community participants, sparking reactions from its members. The @susbarium X (formerly Twitter) page, which issues scam alerts, posted on social media on scammers promoting fake SHI stablecoins, TREAT tokens, and a malicious SHIB Magazine page.
Scammers Promoting Fake Tokens
The Shiba Inu ecosystem has grown exponentially from its days as a mere meme token to having its own layer-2 network. Developers are now introducing new projects in order to bolster the ecosystem’s utility, some of which are the SHI stablecoin and TREAT token. While these tokens have been announced as part of the overall Shiba Inu ecosystem, they have not yet been officially released for trading.
However, Shiba Inu’s lead developer, Shytoshi Kusama, recently exposed a fake account promoting fake TREAT tokens to target unsuspecting investors. The deceptive account seems particularly trusted, as it is currently being followed by Kusama.
⚠️ Warning: Shiba Ecosystem’s $TREAT has not been officially released. Be cautious of malicious groups attempting to deceive. Tokens not connected to Shiba Ecosystem are circulating; stay vigilant against false claims and prioritize your safety.
Check out the Shiba Ecosystem… pic.twitter.com/CkEoi2m2SP
— Shibarmy Scam Alerts (@susbarium) November 19, 2023
“Looks like you bought the account so it showed I followed you,” Kusama said, showing the extreme lengths the scammers went to promote the fake tokens.
Furthermore, some scammers have created counterfeit sites that look nearly identical to the real SHIB Magazine page. The fraudsters trick unsuspecting users on these spoofed websites by requesting them to connect their wallets to mint fake NFTs. These wallets are then drained immediately after connecting them to the websites.
🚨SHIBARMY WARNING:🚨@X
Stay alert as more scammers are copying THE SHIB Magazine page and requesting you to connect your wallets to mint fake NFTs so they can drain them..
Only use links from our official sources, double check the urls and NEVER be fast to connect your wallet… pic.twitter.com/XFMWcAYdmh
— Shibarmy Scam Alerts (@susbarium) November 19, 2023
What’s Next For Shiba Inu?
Con artists have frequently created fake social media profiles of Shiba Inu developers to promote scams, but community members have been warned to only use links from official sources and to always stay vigilant against false claims.
It would seem some eager Shiba Inu community members have already fallen for some of the scams. Data from Etherscan shows there are now more than 1,000 holders of the fake TREAT token and over 300 holders of the fake SHI stablecoin. According to Coinmarketcap, the fake treat token is now trading at $0.0004174.
SHIB is now trading at $0.000008377. Although the crypto is still up by 20% in a 30-day timeframe, it is currently down by 3.6% in the past 24 hours. According to crypto analyst Captain Faibik, Shiba Inu could spike up to 200% by the middle of next month.
Shibarium, on the other hand, was recently recognized as one of the top five most active networks on the NOWNodes platform.
SHIB price drops to $0.000008 | Source: SHIBUSD on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Finbold, chart from Tradingview.com