Multi Sig Scams.. Crazy Stuff

22 days ago

I'm still in awe about this one. What makes it even surreal is that I literally just learned of the meaning of the word 'multisig' from @curangel and @ecoinstant on the hive thrive call earlier today.
Then what ups the surreality of it is when a friend asked me four days ago if I've ever been scammed and how much I lost back then.
Who'd have known that I'd have to up the frequency so soon.

This isn't a post to complain... Well not that much...

But it's also a post to educate and inform the general public of what is happening right now.

First off..

What Is a Multisig account?

A multi-sig (multiple signature) account is an account that needs multiple signatures for a transaction to pass through.
To put it in even lamer terms, it's a co-account, shared by 2 or more people that need either the two or more people to vote/sign for a transaction to go through.

The way it works could be a bit confusing but I'd need y'all who don't know about it to bear with me now..

So let's say I, @moneykeep and @seki1bank want to create a multisig account.
This account created would have 3 different signatures and these 3 different signatures would have a signature weight assigned to them.
The three signature weight assigned would have a total sum of 100%
There would also be a setting for the minimum percentage threshold for a transaction to go through on that account.

So now, let's say I (seki1) has a 41% percent signature weight.
@moneykeep has a 27% percent signature weight
@seki1bank has a 32% percent signature weight
And the account has a settings for a minimum of 60% signature weight before a transaction goes through.
That means that no one person can decide to send money out of this account to another account.

_{Funny how I didn't truly understand it when I was explained to during the call, but now I feel I can lecture it to a room full of students 😂}
_{Experience truly is the best teacher.}

I believe a few persons can now imagine how this scam can take form.

OKX Multisig USDT TRON Scam Workflow.

Scammer = Scammer 1
Scammed = Mumu

- Step 1

Scammer 1 creates the OKX Multisig account and sets his signature weight to 100, he then deposits USDT ties to the TRX network on it (the bait.)

There are numerous ways in which this scam can go, but its usually in 4 steps..

- Step 2

Scammer 1 screenshots the wallet balance and his Multisig account seed phrase and "mistakenly" drops it in a group. (Setting 1)
Or...
Scammer 1 tries to sell this account to a random fellow, claiming to be a crypto ignorant who got lucky on an airdrop and wants to cashout his winnings. (What I literally walked into open-eyes).

- Step 3.

A user assumes the role of "The Mumu" and immediately loads the phrases on his OKX wallet, confirms the USDT is there and tries to send it out, yet sees there's no TRX available for fees. (Setting 1)
OR...
Mumu (Me) loads the phrases, confirms the money and then tried to withdraw it to another account but noticed no TRX available for fees.

- Step 4. (Same for both settings)

Mumu sends TRX to the wallet to be able to send the money out (approximately 5~6$) and is hit with the drastic notification.

- Step 5

Scammer 1 gets an alert of the TRX of sent for network fees and transfers that amount to his own separate account.

- Step 6

Rinse and Repeat.

I feel it's quite a crazy and yet simple framework. Talk about passive scamming 😂😂😭

One can join a number of crypto groups and do this twice a month, racking up a lot of money then those that even do sell the accounts for sums way higher than 6$.
To be honest all these rule bendings and manipulations for scams are the reasons why people are so scared of the crypto world.
If someone told me I'd have lost 6$ today to a scam, I wouldn't have believed but here we are.

Regardless y'all stay safe and stay aware😂😭✨