Tweets from scammers often bear the same profile picture as the official @Shibtoken account — and inevitably promise that a giveaway of some kind is taking place.
Across Crypto Twitter, popular posts are being bombarded with replies purporting to be related to SHIBA INU.
The tweets often bear the same profile picture as the official @Shibtoken account — and inevitably promise that a giveaway of some kind is taking place.
Now, @Shibtoken has bitten back, warning:
"We've been made aware of a recent scam traveling social media and other communication platforms."
The tweet features the message "stay alert and safe," along with a video boasting some dramatic and funky music.
Stay Alert & Safe #ShibArmy!— Shib (@Shibtoken) November 21, 2021
We've been made aware of a recent scam, traveling social media, and other communication platforms.
Here's a quick video to provide more information on the matter. pic.twitter.com/UOh50WsJSQ
This clip includes some screenshots of the fraudulent tweets, which attempt to entice victims with promises of big events. It adds:
"A fake SHIBA Telegram group is being shared across social media. The scammers impersonate official accounts and create fake users."
The video goes on to explain that a number of common hashtags — including #SHIB, #SHIBArmy, #Leash, #SHIBASWAP and #Bone.
And in a concerted effort to clear the air, the clip concludes:
"There is no 'SHIBA BREAKING NEWS! BIG EVENT!' There is no SHIBA airdrop! There is no SHIBA bonus! There is no SHIBA giveaway! There is no SHIBA gift globally!"
How to Stay Safe
The SHIB community is being urged to ensure that they don't share their wallet keys with others, or disclose email addresses and passwords.
Although it may be tempting to engage with the scammers — either by joining the Telegram groups or replying to their Twitter posts — those who see these posts are urged to block and report them instead.
The video seemed to be something of a thankless task, not least because @Shibtoken's tweet was flooded with replies from bots.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone has described the rise of SHIBA INU as proof of "excesses" in the cryptocurrency market — and suggested its value may need to fall in order for Bitcoin's to rise.