Visitors of the Bitcoin.org website recently fell victim to a scam that promised to double their money.

Bitcoin.org Was the Recent Host of a Crypto Scam

Issues like these are prevalent in the cryptocurrency space, but at this point, it should become rather obvious that anyone (or anything) promising to double one’s money is not a forthright venture. Why would a company simply double your money for the heck of it? Nobody’s that nice or giving, and the maneuver should be a red flag to any crypto trader – new and experienced.

The site was ultimately shut down not long after the scam took place. Hackers took control of Bitcoin.org and presented a message to visitors telling them that in sending their digital currency in to a specific address, their money could potentially grow to twice its original size. Not long after, Bitcoin.org shut itself down and presented an error message to all future visitors as a means of deterring the hackers from doing any more damage.

The initial scam message claimed that the doubled funds were coming by way of the Bitcoin Foundation, which was looking for a way to “give back to the community.” The message also stated that the first 10,000 participants would be eligible to take part in the giveaway. Sadly, it was never the intention of the hackers to double anyone’s funds. Rather, it seems like the primary goal was to steal all they could within a set period.

Also featured on the message was a QR code that customers could use to send their funds to the listed address. In addition, visitors could not engage in any of the remaining services on the website so long as the scam message was posted.

Situations like these have become rather prominent in the digital currency space. Arguably, one of the biggest examples of this took place in the summer of last year, when a hacker ultimately gained control of several big-name Twitter accounts including those of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. The hacker sent out a message via these accounts telling followers to send their bitcoin funds to specific addresses so that they could potentially have their money doubled.

Things Like This Happen a Lot

Unfortunately, the circumstances were quite similar with those surrounding the Bitcoin.org scam. All money collected was never doubled. Rather, it was kept greedily by the person who overtook the accounts. It is believed that the hacker managed to steal more than $120,000 in digital funds. Not long after, the hacker – who was discovered to be 17 years of age – was arrested and sentenced to time in a juvenile detention facility.

Initially, he was facing as many as ten years in prison, but ultimately agreed to serve three as part of a plea bargain.

The post Scam Plagues Bitcoin.org After Hacker Takes Over Website appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.