[SCAM ALERT] @soniia Phishing scam
I have just been alerted to a phishing scam that is currently being spread through Steemit. The profile @soniia is a fake account, and is spreading false links claiming that people are plagiarizing your work. DO NOT CLICK THE LINK!. I've taken it upon myself to flag these comments, and post a comment of my own to warn people. I'm essentially being forced to counter-spam these sh!tty comments, so my sincerest apologies for spamming your posts.
This is a phishing scam, aimed at getting your password. Your work has not been stolen, if you come across one of these comments/links then I urge you to flag it.
Each comment also comes with an upvote from @shivzz , @sandlover and @bokser1991, so it's probably right to assume that these are also accounts that are part of the same scam (or possibly, unfortunately, genuine accounts that have been hijacked).
Remember, when online, always check links before clicking them. This is especially important with Steemit, if you are entering your master password, double and triple check the URL of the page you are on. Stay safe, and keeping steeming! Peace!
@johngreenfield, there is someone else who does the same: @ahlawat.
i have already reported this to steemcleaners. thx for your post. greetings
Thanks for letting me know, I've flagged the troublesome comments from them. Sadly, it looks like that was a genuine account that's since been hijacked. Very sad to see
yes, it looks like the account @ahlawat has already been taken over.
very sad. i also flagged. hopefully steemcleaners.org reacts quickly ...
To be honest, I haven't had much luck in summoning the legendary @steemcleaners
but this time steemcleaners responded immediately :-)
Thank you so much for this valuable information.
Thanks for spotting the scam.
No problem bud =]
I felt a bit bad about spamming people's articles to try to prevent them from getting caught by it, but so long as no-one did then job done!
Resteemed for the awereness!
I really appreciate it! Although, I have to say @apsu has since written up a really good post on staying safe on steemit:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@apsu/brief-look-on-how-to-avoid-being-scammed
thanks...I just muted them all.
Thank you for the alert, should we check like for the https:// part to ensure its secure? How exactly can we protect ourselves?
One way of checking for dodgy links is to check the URL itself, so this one for example the text reads www.steemiit.com, (which is obviously wrong), but when you click on it, it takes you to a totally different address.
Microsoft has written a short guide on Phishing Scams: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/safety/online-privacy/phishing-symptoms.aspx
Usually the devil is in the detail, phishing scammers tend to have a poor grasp of the english language, so spelling mistakes and errors are very common.
These days it's a good idea to try to use HTTPS wherever possible, I think Chrome and Firefox force HTTPS by default these days, but there are also plugins that'll do that for you.
If there's enough interest, I'll start writing an internet safety guide. Hope this helps! Peace!
U should do a series on internet safety, count me as one of the commenters and upvoters. SteemOn!
No you should use pgp..
Isn't PGP more geared towards communications like email? I'll be honest, it's not a protocol I've looked into.
but it is possible to encrypt sites using keys or (key ring) which is a string of sites (keys) that validate, encrypt, decrypot, and sign the entrance and exit node with a transparent problem solved and verified.... Also known as key rings
Interesting, thanks for that. You've given me some reading for this evening!
Edit: Just found something called WebPG, is this what you're referring to?
not sure but i will check it out!
PGP IS AN LIKE STEEM KEYS
Malicious.... We all must be vigilant at all times! If these people just put the effort to making their own stuff, instead of trying to steal others... lol
Friend, I clicked on his profile. All data scans have been not found. my data delete
Thanks @noctisk and anyone else who flagged these harmful comments
:) It shall be punished.