# Scam Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Scam", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

SpaceX and OpenAI Are About to Go Public, Your Index Fund Might Be Forced to 'Buy at the Peak'

The imminent mega-IPOs of companies like SpaceX and OpenAI pose a significant risk to index fund investors, who may be forced to buy these overvalued stocks at peak prices. Index funds, designed to replicate market performance, must purchase new listings once they are included in major indices, often through "fast entry" rules that allow inclusion within days. This creates a hidden cost: hedge funds and other intermediaries front-run these predictable purchases, driving up prices before the inclusion date, after which the shares typically underperform. Historical data shows that IPOs, especially those with low float (like SpaceX’s planned <5% float), tend to dramatically underperform the market over time. High valuations, low float, and forced buying during index rebalancing result in a performance drag for passive investors, effectively acting as a hidden tax. Attempting to invest pre-IPO via private markets is also risky due to survivor bias, high fees, and liquidity issues. For index investors, this costly mechanism is an unavoidable aspect of passive investing.

marsbit04/23 13:11

SpaceX and OpenAI Are About to Go Public, Your Index Fund Might Be Forced to 'Buy at the Peak'

marsbit04/23 13:11

Justin Sun Sues Trump Family: What $75 Million Bought Was Only a Blacklist

Justin Sun, founder of Tron, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against World Liberty Financial (WLF), alleging he was made the "primary target of a fraudulent scheme" after investing $75 million. Sun claims the investment secured him an advisor title and WLFI tokens, which were later frozen by WLF, causing "hundreds of millions in losses." The dispute began in late 2024 when Sun's investment helped revive WLF's struggling token sale, which ultimately raised $550 million. Shortly after, the SEC dropped its lawsuit against Sun following Donald Trump's inauguration. However, relations soured when Sun refused WLF's demands for additional funding. In August 2025, WLF added a "blacklist" function to its smart contract, allowing it to unilaterally freeze tokens. Sun's holdings, worth approximately $107 million, were frozen, and he was threatened with token destruction. The lawsuit highlights WLF's structure, which directs 75% of token sale profits to the Trump family, who had earned $1 billion by December 2025. WLF's CEO is Zach Witkoff, son of U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The project faces scrutiny for opaque operations, including a controversial loan arrangement on the Dolomite platform, co-founded by a WLF advisor. Despite Sun's history with the SEC, the case underscores centralization risks within DeFi, as WLF controls governance and holds powers to freeze assets arbitrarily. Sun's tokens remain frozen as legal proceedings begin.

marsbit04/23 06:01

Justin Sun Sues Trump Family: What $75 Million Bought Was Only a Blacklist

marsbit04/23 06:01

Iran Opens Fire on an Oil Tanker That Paid Bitcoin Transit Fees to Scammers

Iran announced plans to charge Bitcoin and USDT transit fees for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Within two weeks, scammers impersonated Iranian officials and sent fraudulent messages to stranded vessels, demanding cryptocurrency payments in exchange for safe passage. At least one tanker that paid the fake fee was fired upon by Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats when attempting to cross. Maritime risk firm MARISKS confirmed the scam exploited shipowners’ anxiety amid heightened regional tensions. Chain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis found no evidence of large-scale crypto payments actually being made to Iranian entities. Legal experts warned that even payments made to scammers—if intended for Iran—could violate international sanctions. The incident highlights how cryptocurrency’s irreversibility, often touted as a strength, becomes a critical risk in conflict-driven fraud. While Iran’s proposal initially sparked excitement in crypto circles, it ultimately created a new attack vector for deception, leaving ships trapped, fined, or even under fire.

marsbit04/22 08:45

Iran Opens Fire on an Oil Tanker That Paid Bitcoin Transit Fees to Scammers

marsbit04/22 08:45

Crypto Extortion Hits Strait Of Hormuz As Scammers Exploit Shipping Crisis

An emerging crypto extortion scam is targeting shipping companies with vessels stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime risk firm Marisks. Criminals posing as Iranian security officials are sending fraudulent messages offering safe passage in exchange for transit fees paid in Bitcoin or Tether. The scam exploits desperation amid the ongoing regional conflict, which has severely restricted movement through the critical waterway. Victims are instructed to submit documents and pay a cryptocurrency fee to secure transit. However, the messages are not from Iranian authorities. Paying could not only result in financial loss but also potentially violate international sanctions, as any crypto transfer linked to Iranian entities may be considered material support. Legal risks remain even if companies are defrauded. The scheme appears to capitalize on earlier reports that Iran was considering a real crypto-based toll system.

bitcoinist04/21 17:01

Crypto Extortion Hits Strait Of Hormuz As Scammers Exploit Shipping Crisis

bitcoinist04/21 17:01

Spending $200 to Buy Stars, Scamming VCs Out of Tens of Millions: The Entire GitHub Fake Star Industry Exposed

A peer-reviewed study from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) reveals that GitHub hosts approximately 6 million fake Stars, involving 18,600 repositories and 301,000 accounts, with AI/LLM projects being the largest non-malicious category for fake engagement. The fake Star market has exploded, with prices as low as $0.03 per Star. Research shows that venture capital firms, such as Redpoint Ventures, use GitHub Star counts as a key metric for evaluating startups, with median Stars at 2,850 for seed-stage funding. For less than $200, a project can artificially meet this threshold, distorting investment landscape. Over a dozen websites openly sell GitHub Stars, and fake Star activity saw explosive growth in 2024. AI-related repositories were among the most heavily affected. Despite GitHub’s policies against fake engagement, enforcement remains inconsistent: while 90% of flagged repositories were deleted, only 57% of involved accounts were suspended. The report highlights how purchased Stars can manipulate GitHub’s Trending algorithm and influence VC funding decisions, creating a cycle where artificial metrics attract real investment.

marsbit04/21 02:59

Spending $200 to Buy Stars, Scamming VCs Out of Tens of Millions: The Entire GitHub Fake Star Industry Exposed

marsbit04/21 02:59

After the Collapse of the Believe Flywheel Myth, the 26-Year-Old Prodigy Founder Stands as Defendant in Federal Court

In March 2026, 26-year-old Australian entrepreneur Ben Pasternak and his entities B24, Inc. and Believe Foundation were sued in a New York federal court. Investors accused Pasternak of deceptive practices and false advertising through three consecutive token offerings and a forced token migration, causing hundreds of millions in losses. The case centers on Believe (formerly Clout.me), a Solana-based social token launch platform Pasternak founded. Users could create tokens via tweets, with the platform token LAUNCHCOIN reaching a peak market cap of $370 million in May 2025. Pasternak initially claimed he had "zero ownership" of his self-named token, PASTERNAK, which crashed over 95% within a week. In October 2025, Believe forced a migration from LAUNCHCOIN to a new token, BELIEVE, increasing total supply by 33.3%. New tokens were allocated to team members, investors, and the foundation, diluting existing holders. Pasternak falsely claimed no tokens were allocated to insiders for a year, while the foundation received 40 million tokens with no lock-up. The platform generated an estimated $54 million in fees from $6 billion in trading volume. Pasternak earned creator fees throughout. After the migration, significant selling occurred from top wallets. BELIEVE’s value plummeted from its peak to around $1.2 million. Pasternak, a former teen prodigy who dropped out of school at 15, had previously founded apps like Monkey and the food-tech startup NUGGS. His personal life also drew attention, including a public breakup in early 2026. Once hailed as "the next Zuckerberg," he now faces legal and reputational collapse.

marsbit04/16 09:44

After the Collapse of the Believe Flywheel Myth, the 26-Year-Old Prodigy Founder Stands as Defendant in Federal Court

marsbit04/16 09:44

A Brief History of Web3 Airdrops: A Review of Twelve Iconic 'Rug Pull' Projects

**Summary: A History of Web3 Airdrop "Rug Pulls" – 12 Iconic Cases** The era of Web3 airdrops has shifted from a golden age of mutual benefit between early users and projects to a landscape dominated by systematic exploitation. This article reviews 12 infamous "anti-airdrop" projects that eroded user trust: 1. **Hop Protocol (HOP):** Pioneered a "community witch-hunt" model, encouraging users to report Sybil addresses to claim their rewards, fostering a toxic environment of mutual harm. 2. **Blast:** Introduced the exploitative "points system," locking user funds for meager returns that often underperformed risk-free yields, turning airdrop hunting into a rigged casino. 3. **LayerZero (ZRO):** After 18 months of user-funded gas fees, it implemented a harsh "guilty until proven innocent" Sybil filter, forcing users to "self-confess" or face zero rewards, destroying multi-chain interaction narratives. 4. **zkSync (ZK):** Prioritized "funds held at a specific time" over long-term activity, betraying early contributors who spent significant gas and rewarding insiders, crushing L2 airdrop expectations. 5. **Infinex:** Lured users with NFT and point systems, only to announce a high FDV, a mandatory 1-year lockup, and chaotic rules at its public sale, betraying its community. 6. **Linea:** Perfected user exploitation with endless, grueling Galxe Odyssey tasks and KYC requirements, reducing airdrop hunting to a low-wage, full-time job. 7. **Grass:** Exploited users' physical resources (bandwidth/IP) for DePIN data, rewarding them with tokens worth less than the electricity and proxy costs incurred. 8. **Monad:** Allocated a mere ~3.3% of its airdrop to the community after extensive testnet participation, favoring KOLs and insiders and dampening enthusiasm for new L1s. 9. **Babylon:** Forced Ethereum-style staking onto Bitcoin, causing users massive losses from failed transactions due to high fees and network congestion, damaging trust in L2s. 10. **Backpack:** Encouraged massive trading volume for points, then applied strict KYC and Sybil rules last minute, resulting in massive losses for users and cementing a negative stereotype for projects with Chinese founders. 11. **EdgeX:** Perpetual DEX users lost significant fees for minimal rewards, while "insider" addresses received enormous allocations, exposing blatant corruption and killing the Perp DEX airdrop narrative. 12. **Genius:** The final straw: users were forced to choose between immediately claiming only 30% of their airdrop, locking tokens for a year for 100%, or a 100% burn for a gas fee refund, shattering trust in "elite-backed" narratives. **Conclusion** marks the painful end of the airdrop era. This collective "rug pull" was a co-created disaster of speculation and greed. The collapse, while brutal, forces a return to fundamentals: sustainable products with real product-market fit are paramount. This is not just the end of airdrops but a potential rebirth for Web3, weeding out exploitative projects and rewarding those that build genuine community value.

marsbit04/14 03:14

A Brief History of Web3 Airdrops: A Review of Twelve Iconic 'Rug Pull' Projects

marsbit04/14 03:14

Brother Sun "Rights Protection" Stands Up Against the Trump Family, WLFI Is the Real Scythe in the Crypto Circle

The article details the controversy surrounding World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project linked to the Trump family. It reports that WLFI allegedly used the DeFi lending protocol Dolomite, whose co-founder is also a WLFI advisor, as a disguised channel to sell tokens by collateralizing around 5 billion WLFI tokens to borrow approximately $75 million in stablecoins. Despite WLFI's claims that the loans were for ecosystem development and posed no liquidation risk, critics argue it was a way for insiders to cash out, shifting risk to retail investors. The piece highlights WLFI's significant price decline—over 66% since its September 2025 launch—and suggests the Trump family and insiders are the main source of selling pressure, as they control nearly 74% of the token supply. It also revisits WLFI’s prior move to blacklist 272 addresses, including those of investor Justin Sun, under the pretext of preventing large-scale sell-offs, which now appears to be an effort to reduce competition for their own sales. Sun publicly accused WLFI of exploiting users, freezing assets, and treating the crypto community as a "personal ATM." WLFI countered by threatening legal action. The author notes that while Sun’s criticism may gain sympathy, a legal battle in the U.S. against the well-connected Trump family would be risky for him. Finally, the article concludes that WLFI exemplifies how powerful elites can exploit crypto’s regulatory gray areas for profit, and urges the community to reject such projects driven more by political privilege than genuine decentralized finance ideals.

Odaily星球日报04/13 12:17

Brother Sun "Rights Protection" Stands Up Against the Trump Family, WLFI Is the Real Scythe in the Crypto Circle

Odaily星球日报04/13 12:17

Crypto Victims Relieved – Or Too Late? What Operation Atlantic Really Means

Operation Atlantic is a major UK-US-Canada law enforcement initiative targeting crypto fraud and approval-phishing scams, involving agencies like the UK's National Crime Agency and the U.S. Secret Service, along with private partners such as Chainalysis. The operation aims to identify victims and compromised wallets in real time, freeze illicit funds before laundering, and generate investigative leads. Initial results include over 20,000 identified victims, more than 20,000 flagged wallet addresses, and over $12 million in frozen suspected scam proceeds. Globally, $45 million in stolen crypto has been identified. Approval phishing scams trick users into signing malicious transactions, allowing direct wallet draining. The operation highlights growing efforts to combat these rapidly evolving crypto crimes.

bitcoinist04/10 20:02

Crypto Victims Relieved – Or Too Late? What Operation Atlantic Really Means

bitcoinist04/10 20:02

Trump Memecoin Event Fine Print Says He May Not Show Up — Senators Want Answers

Buried in the terms of the Official Trump memecoin website is a disclaimer stating that former President Trump "may not be able to attend" a scheduled luncheon on April 25 and that the event could be canceled for any reason. Despite this, organizers are aggressively promoting the event around his potential appearance. Three Democratic senators—Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, and Adam Schiff—sent a letter to the event's organizer, Bill Zanker, demanding clarity on whether Trump plans to attend. They accuse organizers of using Trump's name to drive purchases of the memecoin, which generates transaction fees for Trump and his family. The situation is complicated by a scheduling conflict, as Trump had previously announced he would attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, on the same day. This controversy raises broader questions about tying access to the president to a financial product from which he benefits.

bitcoinist04/10 15:32

Trump Memecoin Event Fine Print Says He May Not Show Up — Senators Want Answers