Fraudsters Target $TRUMP, $MELANIA Wallets – Russian Expert
$TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coin holders should beware fraudsters who are now targeting their crypto wallets, a Russian security provider warned on January 21.
Maria Sinitsyna, a senior analyst at FACCT, told Izvestia that fraudsters “have started creating new $TRUMP-themed websites” to “lure victims” and “steal funds from their crypto wallets.”
$TRUMP and $MELANIA-themed Scammers Launch Websites
The expert added that her firm had found scammers have created “more than a dozen sites” created to dupe $TRUMP and $MELANIA holders and would-be investors.
$TRUMP prices since the token’s launch on January 18. (Source: CoinMarketCap)
“Fraudsters have been using news about US President Donald Trump as part of various scam schemes for some time. But attackers are now taking advantage of the news about the release of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens to create crypto phishing sites. Our analysts have discovered more than a dozen $TRUMP-themed sites designed to steal funds from crypto wallets.”
Maria Sinitsyna, Senior Analyst, FACCT
Sinitsyna explained that the sites prompt visitors to “link their wallets” to “check if they are eligible to take part in $TRUMP and $MELANIA-related events.”
However, if they follow these prompts, the “victims” are eventually asked to enter their wallet seed phrases.
Scammers can then use this data to access and empty crypto wallets, Sinitsyna warned.
President Donald Trump kicked off his sweeping immigration crackdown, tasking the US military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on US soil https://t.co/Vd4FvFhSK9
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2025
She added that fraudsters can also “hijack” a crypto wallet or “connect” it to “a drainer program” to “withdraw all of its funds.”
Sinitsyna also said that one of the phishing sites poses as a sort of crypto exchange that lets holders of other coins swap their assets for $TRUMP coins.
However, she said, the site instead funnels funds to scammers’ crypto wallets.
“Cryptocurrency holders should be careful when using web-based resources and tokens created on the back of major news events. If you link your crypto wallets to dubious sites, you may fall victim to fraud. You could potentially lose all of your crypto funds.”
Sinitsyna
Melania meme coin launches following Trump’s new cryptocurrency https://t.co/vrPWxi8nB7
— The Hill (@thehill) January 20, 2025
$MELANIA, $TRUMP Holders Should Beware ‘Significant Risks’
The $TRUMP meme coin launched on January 18, with the Melania Trump-themed token debuting the following day.
The same media outlet quoted the financial analyst Vladislav Antonov, of the crypto mining giant BitRiver, as stating that investing in the Donald and Melania Trump-themed meme coins “carries significant risks.”
Antonov said that meme tokens are “known for their extreme volatility and are often created solely for speculative purposes.”
The market value of a newly-launched Trump memecoin — a virtual token that appears to offer direct financial benefit to the president-elect’s family — surged to about $5.6 billion by Saturday afternoon, drawing immediate rebuke from government watchdogs. https://t.co/zBig9EbUYY
— Bloomberg (@business) January 19, 2025
Meme Coin ‘Dangers’
Meanwhile, in an interview with Gazeta.ru, a leading Russian academic claimed that meme coins will explode in popularity throughout 2025.
Andrey Sirotkin, a senior lecturer at the banking department of Moscow Financial and Industrial (Synergy) University, said that business “leaders and pop stars” would soon release their own coins.
If meme coins are the way, maybe I’ll issue one. With a twist. Same terms as $TRUMP . 20% float. Same release schedule. One difference.
All the revenue from the sale of the coins go to the US Treasury. The wallet address will be published so everyone can track it.
If…
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 20, 2025
‘A Piece of History’
“Trump meme coins are being marketed as ‘a piece of history.’ And that is helping meme coins stand out in the world of crypto. This is especially the case if it comes from the US President, who is supported in every sense by the business tycoon Elon Musk.”
Andrey Sirotkin, senior lecturer, Moscow Financial and Industrial (Synergy) University
Sirotkin said that “a new era” of crypto – including meme coins – was now “on its way.”
“Soon, it will not only be the American President who is issuing meme coins. It will also be other notable business and pop culture icons. By the end of 2025, the likes of Elon Musk may announce the release of their own coins. The launches may be timed to coincide with major events or reforms.”
Sirotkin
However, the academic warned that “from the point of conservative investors,” he “would not invest money in this kind of asset.”
Sirotkin warned that Trump-themed meme coins would “subsequently collapse,” as was the case with another “notable meme coin, namely Hamster Kombat.”
Source: cryptonews.com
