A phishing scam targeting the Stargate Snapshot platform resulted in significant financial losses.
A Discord moderator for LayerZero, the underlying network of Stargate, revealed that a scammer effectively carried out a deceptive proposal vote, using a phishing link to manipulate users into staking STG tokens.
Scammer Tricks Token Holders in Fake Proposal Vote
The scam took place on the Stargate platform, governed by its token holders, who participate in voting on various proposals relating to the protocol. The scammer took advantage of this process by creating a fake proposal, tricking more than 1,000 users into participating in the vote.
After the incident, the scammer was able to earn more than $43,000. This figure was confirmed by PeckShieldAlert, a security entity, after closely tracking the scammer's digital activities and wallet transactions.
#PeckShieldAlert An activated Discord mod #ZeroLayer has reported that a scammer who inserted a phishing link within a voting proposal in the #stargate Snapshot platform, which attracts users to bet $STG records.
Over 1,000 users participated in the vote, resulting in a loss of ~$43,000 pic.twitter.com/ShmCvLLOJ1– PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) December 4, 2023
PeckShieldAlert is also actively tracking the scammer's digital footprint and efforts are underway to identify links to the scammer's wallet addresses and related transactions, which could provide vital clues for further investigation.
The Stargate platform typically involves a process where STG token holders submit proposals. These proposals, which include core and protocol proposals, are put through a voting process by veSTG voting power holders. Proposals with positive sentiment can be submitted to Snapshot for governance voting.
Growing trend of discord scams
This scam is part of a growing trend of Discord attacks. Discord has increasingly been the target of hackers who exploit its open nature to scam users out of cryptocurrency, NFTs, and money.
Notable incidents in the past include attacks on OpenSea and Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club Discord channels, as well as the compromise of the Mee6 Discord bot, which spreads fraudulent messages through various crypto project channels.
The most common scams on Discord are phishing, in which hackers create fake versions of popular websites, and giveaway scams, in which fake accounts promise free products or services in exchange for money.
This is due to the growing popularity of cryptocurrency and nft projects, which often use Discord for community engagement, making the platform a prime target for these types of fraudulent activities.
After the Stargate Snapshot platform incident, Stargate has not yet issued an official statement. The crypto community is advised to avoid clicking on links in their discord or snapshot while we wait for further developments on the story.
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