A team of researchers hailing from San Diego State University in California has developed a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) system designed to combat and expose cryptocurrency giveaway scams proliferating on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter).
This innovative system, dubbed GiveawayScamHunter, was meticulously crafted to detect, monitor, and reveal the operations of these fraudulent schemes that promise free cryptocurrencies.
In the span between June 2022 and June 2023, the automated GiveawayScamHunter detected a staggering 95,111 instances of scam lists.
These fraudulent lists had originated from 87,617 distinct accounts on the X social media platform.
GiveawayScamHunter’s operational prowess extends beyond mere identification, as it was adeptly utilized by the researchers to automatically extract the pertinent website and wallet addresses connected to these scams.
Consequently, this strategy resulted in the unearthing of a total of 327 scam-related internet domains and the discovery of 121 previously unreported cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to scams.
The research team’s approach began with an exploration of a novel avenue for cryptocurrency giveaway scams: Twitter Lists.
Leveraging the feature’s open access nature, scammers effortlessly exploited it as a networking tool.
Employing the data garnered from previously identified giveaway scams, the team trained a natural language processing tool to pinpoint lists associated with giveaway scams.
Harnessing this methodology, the researchers successfully identified an astonishing count of almost 100,000 instances of giveaway scam lists.
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This breakthrough permitted them to compile crucial data concerning previously uncharted scam websites and wallets.
From the insights derived from this dataset, the team gained valuable understanding into the mechanics of these scams.
They delved into the modus operandi of scammers, their methods of targeting victims, and even managed to approximate the number of victims ensnared during the year-long study.
As the research paper highlights, meticulous tracking of transactions involving scam cryptocurrency addresses revealed a shocking statistic.
Over the course of the study, these scams targeted more than 365 individuals, resulting in a collective financial loss of approximately $872,000 USD.
Acknowledging the significance of their findings, the researchers responsibly disseminated their results, encompassing associated accounts, domains, and wallet addresses, to both X and the wider cryptocurrency and blockchain community.
Regrettably, as of the publication date of August 10, the paper mentions that 43.9% of these linked accounts remain active.
However, the research team clarifies that the majority of these accounts are likely inactive spam profiles.
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