EOS Authority Bot Scam Pops Up On Telegram
A clever scheme on Telegram is parting investors from their private keys
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A fake EOS Authority bot has appeared on Telegram, asking users to provide private keys to their accounts to monitor their funds. Several users have so far warned about the scam, urging EOS holders not to reveal sensitive information on the messaging app.
Fake EOS Authority Bot Asks Users For Private Keys
Created in order to make it easier for users to monitor their accounts, the EOS Authority bot has been active on Telegram since 2018. The bot quickly became popular with EOS holders, as it frequently sent alerts related to their accounts.
However, it seems that a fake bot impersonating EOS Authority, the official EOS explorer, started making rounds on Twitter in a bid to scam users out of their private keys.
The scam bot was first mentioned at the beginning of February 20 when a Twitter user posted a screengrab of the chat with the “EOSauthoritybot.” The bot indicated that the user hasn’t set up any accounts to be monitored and asked the user to add a new account.
Suspicion arose when the bot requested both the owner key and the private key to the account.
https://twitter.com/rektkid_/status/1224596320150859776?s=19
The fake bot is operating under the name of EOSauthoritybot and username—@EOSauhoritys_bot to confuse users with the real EOS authority bot which operates with username @EOSauthoritybot.
Detecting Fake bots on Telegram can be hard. But following the rule of thumb: “Never share your private keys” is easy. The scammers, in this case, are confusing Telegram’s search by using the real bot’s username as its name.
Share Your Keys, Lose Your Coins
Software developer Rami James also alerted users about the potential scam on Feb. 12. James published a Medium post warning about the scammers that have built the fake EOS Authority bot on Telegram. The developer urged users not to continue engaging with the bot after it requests access to their private keys.
“This is a scam account that walks you through the process of giving up your private keys and you will lose access to your accounts,” he said in the post.
While the crypto industry has been no stranger to scams, these kinds of Telegram bots seem relatively new. There is currently very little information on how many users were affected by the scam or how long it has been rampant on the messaging app.
Revealing the private keys to your crypto address is equally as dangerous as losing them and could lead to your funds being stolen.
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