Customer Service Employees Impersonated by Scammers
When using crypto products such as wallets and exchanges, protecting your assets is the No.1 priority. In “CoinEx Wallet Security Tips”, we will share some basic crypto know-how such as common scams, how to use crypto products safely, and blockchain security mechanisms from multiple perspectives to help you fully understand asset security and adopt enhanced protection measures.
As CoinEx Wallet’s main social media group for crypto users, our Telegram group is a major source of information and help for community users. Yet, there are also scammers in the group who try to trick users into giving them important personal information by sending them direct messages as a “customer service employee”. Common scams include:
1. The scammer claims to be customer service staff and asks users to prove their financial capacityof refunding compensations
Some scammers might friend users in the Telegram group through direct messages. They may claim that they are the official customer service staff of CoinEx Wallet and could help users retrieve their stolen assets.
Such scammers would say that CoinEx Wallet could first compensate users for their stolen assets, but they have to confirm whether the fraud case is real. They would say that if the case is not real, then the compensation must be returned.
Next, the “customer service staff” would ask users to prove that they are financially capable of returning the compensation by having them transfer a certain amount of USDT to the wallet address he/she provided. The scammer would say that no compensation will be provided unless the user made the transfer. Once a transfer is made to the USDT address, users will not be able to get their money back.
2. The scammer claims to be customer service staff and asks users to give authorization for transfers
Some scammers might friend users in the Telegram group through direct messages. They may claim that they are the official customer service staff of CoinEx Wallet and could help users retrieve their stolen assets. The scammer would first offer a very “well-made” fake official website and then ask users to file a complaint on this website to trick users out of their private information.
Once all the required information is submitted, the scammer would ask users to make a transfer to confirm the address. Here, the first transfer would definitely “fail”, after which the scammer would ask users to make a second transfer.
After users click on verification on the fake website, the scammer would ask users to wait for one minute so that they can steal assets from users’ accounts with the authorization they just got via “verification”. In other words, if you click on “verification” on this fake website, your cryptos will be stolen.
3. The scammer claims to be customer service staff and asks users to provide their mnemonic phrases
Let’s say a user asks real CoinEx Wallet staff a question about the wallet in the Telegram group. The scammer will then pretend to be CoinEx Wallet staff and ask the user about the details through direct messages. The scammer will then claim that CoinEx Wallet is fixing a “system error” and that the user must reset his account to avoid any further errors. He will provide a link and ask the user to import his wallet with mnemonic phrases for further steps.
As we all know, once the scammer gains access to your mnemonic phrases, he will be able to control your wallet. After getting the mnemonic phrases, the scammer will soon steal the assets in the user’s wallet.
Remember the following tips to spot fake customer service employees right sway and keep your assets safe and secure:
1) CoinEx Wallet customer service will never DM you in the Telegram group, and if you need help, please reach out to us in the following ways:
E-mail: support@wallet.coinex.com
Request submission: https://support.wallet.coinex.com/hc/requests/new
If a “customer service employee” sends you a direct message, please inform us in our official social media group (https://t.me/CoinExWallet).
2) CoinEx Wallet customer service will never ask you to provide private information like mnemonic phrases or private keys under any circumstances. If someone asks you to provide such information, he must be a scammer.
3) CoinEx Wallet’s official website is https://wallet.coinex.com/. Please carefully examine the website link you are about to open.
4) The private key and mnemonic phrases are your wallet password, and losing them means that you lose your wallet, which is why you have to keep the private key and mnemonic phrases to yourself.
CoinEx Wallet recommends backing up the mnemonic phrases using physical media. In other words, you can write them down on paper and keep it safe. We also recommend making multiple copies of the mnemonic phrases. When backing up the mnemonic phrases, please be careful with the ordering and choose a medium that can be stored for a long time. You will also need to avoid problems like unclear handwriting.
Additionally, please avoid storing your private key or mnemonic phrases via methods subject to scams, including pictures, screenshots, chat software, emails, mobile memos, etc.
5) Do not transfer cryptos to any suspicious or unconfirmed recipients.
If the assets in your wallets have been stolen, you should:
1) Get a new wallet and back up the old wallet right away because your private key has been divulged;
2) Transfer your in-wallet assets to the new wallet immediately;
As CoinEx Wallet is a decentralized wallet, we do not keep any account information. In CoinEx Wallet, users keep their private keys and have full control over their assets. Moreover, all transactions happen on the blockchain, which conforms to the blockchain spirit of decentralization. As a result, once users’ assets are stolen, CoinEx Wallet cannot retrieve such assets. Private keys/mnemonic phrases are equivalent to your assets and must be kept properly. If you have any problem, feel free to ask for help through official channels.
