In the past few hours, lots of Bittrex Global customers have received emails about a balance on their Bittrex account available for withdrawal. The email claimed they’ve till a certain date to withdraw the assets or face forfeiture. Lots of people are wondering if the email is legit. Well, the short answer is NO. Read on for more details about this scam, and check out tips on how to stay protected.
Bittrex Global Scam Email
Founded in 2014, Bittrex (aka Bittrex Global) is a crypto exchange and trading platform. As of May 2023, the company filed for bankruptcy protection after Securities and Exchange Commission charged it with operating an unregistered securities exchange.
However, the bankruptcy has driven scammers to prey on Bittrex customers. Haven somehow gotten hold of the email address of Bittrex customers, they send the following emails;
[BITTREX] Important Notice: You have $8,721 USD in unclaimed assets. Please withdraw by 1/28/24 using your unique ID at [URL Link] to avoid permanent loss.
Dear Bittrex User, We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to inform you about an URGENT concern. As you may already know, Bittrex has made the difficult decision to shut down our exchange services after filing forbankruptcy. However, it’s come to our attention that before platform shutdown, the account registered with your email address had a remaining balance of above $1,250 USD, and we want to ensure a smooth process for you to access these funds. Failure to access will result in a complete forfeiture of all remaining assets held by Bittrex.
How The Brittex Bankruptcy Email Scam Works
This email scam falls into the category of ‘Phishing’ and ‘website spoofing’. The goal of this scam is to get recipients to click on the malicious link in the body of the email. Clicking on the link or ‘Initiate Withdrawal’ button directs them to a malicious website which looks like the legit Bittrex website.
The scammers would try to get you to connect a wallet with funds in it ‘to withdraw’, but that is a switcharoo and they withdraw funds from your wallet.
Bittrex Global Response
Bittrex Global has addressed the scam and issued the following warning to customers;
-We will never DM you first on Telegram
-We will never contact you from a personal email address
-We will never contact you through any social media site’s messaging platform directly in your web browser without clicking a link in an email.
Please always check the “sender” and “reply-to” email addresses from which you receive any communications that say they come from Bittrex Global. We only use email addresses ending in @bittrex.li, @bittrex.bm, @bittrexglobal.com, or @bittrex.com. And please also be very careful with any links in emails you receive; if you have any suspicions, access https://bittrexglobal.com
What To Do About this Phishing Scam
Do Not Click On The Link
Don’t attempt to click on the link no matter how legit it looks. Clicking links inside a scam email or text message would either direct you to a fraudulent website or install malware into your device.
Block The Sender’s Number or Email
The final step you should take is blocking the email address that sent the scam text message. You can do this by flagging the email address as spam.
Delete
Deleting the email will prevent you from mistakenly replying to it.
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