Scam of the day – February 28, 2025 – Scammers Use DOGE and Dogecoin Confusion to Scam Victims

by | Feb 27, 2025 | Scam of the day

Security software company McAfee is warning people about scams that have arisen taking advantage of confusion regarding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) operated by Elon Musk and Dogecoin, a similarly named cryptocurrency that originated in 2013 as a joke, but took on a life of its own, particularly in 2021 when Elon Musk began extensively tweeting about it.

In one version of the scam, people are receiving emails that appear to come from Elon Musk or DOGE asking targeted victims to send Dogecoin to a private wallet in return for the promise that they will be sent a larger amount of free Dogecoin in return.  The emails may appear to be legitimate (as legitimate as any email that promises you something for nothing) by the use of the official DOGE logo, but it is a simple matter to counterfeit the logo.  Scammers have also set up phony DOGE websites with a section where you can claim your free Dogecoin bonus.  Again, the website may appear legitimate, particularly with AI being used to create the phony website.

The scam may appear to some to be more believeable due to both Musk and President Trump making public statements about money being sent to Americans as a form of dividend related to alleged savings acheived by DOGE.  Trump has suggested a $5,000 refund, but to date there is no truth to any such funds being paid to Americans.

TIPS

No one is offering cryptocurrencies to people in return for sending them your own cryptocurrencies although this type of scam has been going on since the beginning of cryptocurrencies.

As for phony websites, sometimes carefully checking the domain name for a counterfeit website will provide an indication that it is a scam.  If the domain name has nothing to do with the real name of the company or government agency you can be confident that is a scam.  I would caution you however that merely because the name looks legitimate does not mean that it is.  Often scammers will create phony, but very legitimate appearing domain names.
The Google Safe Browsing Transparency Report is a terrific free service where you can type in the URL and learn if Google’s research indicates the website is a fake.  Here is a link to it. https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search
You can also use Whois.com which is a free service that will tell you who owns a particular URL and how long it has been in service.  If your Walmart website has only been around six months and is owned by someone in Nigeria, it certainly is a scam.  Here is a link to Whois  https://whois.domaintools.com/
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/