Beware of Google Forms bearing crypto gifts

[harlan4096]

Scammers are tricking people into giving up cryptocurrency through Google Forms surveys. Here is what they are doing and how to avoid falling victim to this scam.
 
You’ve probably filled out a Google Forms survey at least once — likely signing up for an event, taking a poll, or gathering someone else’s contacts. No wonder you did — this is a convenient and easy-to-use service backed by a tech giant. This simplicity and trust have become the perfect cover for a new wave of online scams. Fraudsters have figured out how to use Google Forms to hide their schemes, luring victims with promises of free cryptocurrency. And all the victim has to do to fall into the trap is click a link.

Free crypto is only in a scammer’s trap

Just like parents tell their kids not to take candy from strangers, we recommend being cautious about offers that seem too good to be true. Today’s story is exactly about that. Our researchers have uncovered a new wave of scam attacks exploiting Google Forms. Scammers use this Google service to send potential victims emails offering free cryptocurrency.

“The transaction for the transfer has been verified”

As is often the case, the scam is wrapped in a flashy, tempting package: victims are lured with promises of cashing out a large sum of cryptocurrency. But before you can get your payout, the scammers ask you to pay a fee — though not right away. First, you have to click a link in the email, land on a fake website, and enter your crypto wallet details and your email address (a nice bonus for the scammers). And just like that, you wave goodbye to your money.

The scammers are counting on victims finding an offer of 1.275 BTC too hard to resist

If we take a closer look at these emails, we’ll see that they don’t exactly win any awards for looking legit. That’s because, while Google Forms is a free tool that allows anyone, including scammers, to create professional-looking emails, these emails have a very specific look that’s pretty hard to pass off as a real crypto platform notification. So why do scammers use Google Forms?

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