A popular name in the Dogecoin community has raised alarm about the increasing prevalence of scam tokens specifically targeting Dogecoin community members. According to Mishaboar, an avid Dogecoin enthusiast, the community has recently been targeted by a series of “pump and dump” scam coins looking to capitalize on Dogecoin’s popularity. These scam tokens which are created almost every day, lure in unsuspecting buyers with promises of huge gains, only to crash in value after the scammers dump their coins leading to a collapse in price.
Scammers Promoting Fake Tokens
In a recent post on social media platform X, Mishaboar warned members of the community of actors making use of the Dogecoin tag or targeting specific events to entice unsuspecting victims.
The Dogecoin community has experienced phenomenal growth from its days as the first meme token, to recently celebrating its 10th birthday. Dogecoin has been subject to various positives in its lifespan, gaining the support of popular names like Elon Musk, which has helped it climb to the 9th spot in terms of market cap. Doge’s popularity has given rise to other meme tokens like Shiba Inu and PEPE, which have gone on to build their own ecosystems and garner a support community.
However, the meme token has also been subject to negatives, one of which is dubious actors looking to steal money from members of the community. Several other Dogecoin copycats and scam tokens have appeared over the years, hijacking the Dogecoin tag trademark to encourage people to buy in.
According to Mishaboar, proponents of these scam tokens manipulate X’s algorithm to promote airdrops for their coins. After experiencing a price surge, large holders will dump their tokens and slip away with huge profits, and prices collapse in a few hours.
Dear #Dogecoin, be extremely careful with the several tokens targeting the community, often directly (hijacking the Dogecoin tag or targeting specific events) or indirectly.
New tokens are created every day and pushed to this community. Most of these are short-term pump-and-dump…
— Mishaboar (@mishaboar) December 9, 2023
“Stay away from ANY ad or post encouraging you to get free “airdrops”. No exception. I am even surprised @X is still allowing ads containing that keyword to run,” he tweeted.
Dear #Dogecoin and newbies,
stay away from ANY ad or post encouraging you to get free “airdrops”. No exception.
I am even surprised @X is still allowing ads containing that keyword to run.
Report these scammers. Stay away.
When you see their posts, just say: pic.twitter.com/D4REI7WPlV
— Mishaboar (@mishaboar) December 10, 2023
The crypto space can be treacherous to some investors, as it is continuously subject to various hacks and scam methods. According to blockchain audit company Certik, November was the most damaging month of the year in terms of losses, with investors losing approximately $363 million to exploits, hacks, and scams. Approximately $1.1 million was lost to pump and dump schemes in particular.
Combining all the incidents in November we’ve confirmed ~$363M lost to exploits, hacks and scams
This makes November the most damaging month this year
Exit scams were ~$1.1M
Flash loans were ~$45.5M
Exploits were ~$316.4M
See more details below
pic.twitter.com/QoDy6d8IJH
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) November 30, 2023
What’s Next For Dogecoin?
DOGE finally broke the $0.1 level for the first time this year on December 6 and has traded around the region for the past few days. At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1, looking to gain a footing above this price level. The crypto is already up by 17.45% in a 7-day timeframe and on-chain metrics point to a further price increase to $0.15.
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