Multiple cryptocurrency enthusiasts are reporting scam token MASK that impersonates the hotly anticipated governance token of mainstream wallet MetaMask.
Ethereum community targteted by eight-digit scam
Today, on Dec. 28, Ether holders started reporting a new "honeypot contact," i.e., a token that you can only buy but not sell. The scam impersonates MetaMask's governance token, Mask, which has not been issued yet.
Twitter user @lindyape shares a screenshot of the transaction history of an Ether holder who bought MASK for 22 ETH (almost $88,000) and cannot sell it at any price.
As per Etherscan, the net number of victims of this scam may be close to 400. The token is issued by the shady "MaskDAO," whose website was registered yesterday, on Dec. 27.
It looks like in the first few hours of MASK activity, some traders were able to sell. Although this token has a reputation of 1/100 on the application DexTools, it is still being aggressively shilled by some NFT influencers.
Here's how scams get verification badges
Crypto enthusiast @cobynft explained how the issuers of MASK token managed to get the verification badge on popular DeFi application DexTool.
Hackers injected malicious code into the description of the token that the website executed, resulting in a much-anticipated blue "Verified" badge displayed next to WETH/MASK pair.
Mr. @cobynft revealed that the sell option was locked after $1 million in liquidity was injected into MASK. Right now, the token is labeled as a "honeypot" by automatic analytic systems due to its code including the line that does not allow selling it.