Scam Alert: Fake Shiba Inu Lead Account Celebrates Rollout of Shibarium Testnet V2
Top Shiba Inu influencer warns of a Twitter account impersonating Shiba Inu’s lead developers for a fake Shibarium giveaway campaign.
Scammers have recently been targeting Shiba Inu community members, causing them to lose their funds. In a tweet today, prominent influencer SHIB KNIGHT (@army_shiba) called on the community’s attention to a fake Twitter account posing as Shiba Inu’s lead developer Shytoshi Kusama.
Fake Kusama Announces Shibarium Giveaway
The fake Twitter account announced that version 2 of the Shibarium testnet is now live. The team behind the account launched a giveaway campaign to celebrate the rollout of Shibarium Testnet V2.
According to the announcement, holders of SHIB, BONE, LEASH, or any Shibarium ecosystem tokens were asked to visit a website attached to the tweet to claim their rewards.
Furthermore, it stressed that the exercise would be the last round of rewards for the Shibarium Beta launch. Commenting on the development, SHIB KNIGHT cautioned members of the SHIBArmy that the account behind the announcement is fake.
Fake account, be careful #ShibArmy https://t.co/SXUy5eTw7C
— $SHIB KNIGHT (@army_shiba) May 18, 2023
Our Investigation
Upon visiting the linktr.ee link attached to the tweet, we saw links to four different pages, namely:
- Shibarium Beta – Participate in Rewards.
- ShibaSwap (Shiba Inu’s decentralized exchange.)
- Shibarium Tech (official Shibarium Telegram group.)
- Shib: The Metaverse (the official website of Shiba Inu’s metaverse project).
The scammers included the official websites of Shiba Inu’s decentralized exchange, Shibarium Telegram channel, and Shib: The Metaverse to make the exercise look real.
However, the scammers created a clone of the Shibarium website, with slight modifications, for the Shibarium Beta link. It called on holders of top meme-based tokens like SHIB, BONE, PEPE, etc., to “join the Shibarium Beta frenzy” to claim their rewards.
After we clicked the “Claim Shibarium Rewards” button, we were asked to connect a MetaMask wallet in order to continue.
Members of the Shiba Inu community are advised not to connect their wallets, as this could lead to loss of funds.
Not New
Meanwhile, this is not the first time scammers have created a fake Shibarium website to steal funds from unsuspecting investors. Last month, @susbarium, a Twitter account that identifies Shiba Inu-related scams, highlighted a fake Shibarium website that steals people’s funds.
The website displays on the first page of Google SERP whenever the keyword “Shibarium” is searched. The scammers ask users to connect their wallets whenever they click on the website’s link.
Similarly, a fake Twitter account impersonating Shiba Inu lead developer was reported to have scammed many SHIB community members in March.
Top members of the Shiba Inu community have continued to update the community about these fraudulent tactics scammers adopt.
Last week, an admin of the Shibarium Telegram channel warned about a fake version of SHIB token on the Fathom blockchain. All Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens, including BONE, SHIB, and LEASH, are only available on the Ethereum blockchain.