Twitter: Crypto Scam Crackdown Shows Hit and Miss!
As wereportedearlier, Twitter plans to come with specific measures to cut down on suspect content. A company spokespersontoldBloomberg that Twitter was informed about cryptocurrency manipulation and was acting accordingly. However, it seems that there were instances when Twitter’s approach went wrong. Crypto exchange Kraken announced on Tuesday that its verified account, which served customer support, had been banned from the social media platform.
"Sorry, guys.@TwitterSupporthave permanently banned our@krakensupportaccount for "rules" against repeatedly warning you about the unmitigated scams in the replies. Looks like you're on your own now.pic.twitter.com/KnR34yzds9— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx)March 6, 2018"
In fact, @krakensupport simply warned its customers against scams and informed about the different ways scammers are stealing cryptocurrencies online. For example, on February 21, the Kraken support team came with a warning:
"Safety tip: Beware of twitter handles that are similar to ours that promise coin giveaways, if you send them a deposit first. We are not doing a giveaway at this time.— Kraken Support (@krakensupport)February 21, 2018"
Fortunately, Twitter reactivated Kraken’s customer service account shortly afterwards.
Ironically, right below Kraken’s Tweet, complaining about their support account ban, one could easily note scammers trying to look for victims. An allegedly fake account called @krakenfizx, which is still live, commented:
"То kееp things fun wе'vе alѕо dеcidеd tо hоld a givеawaу fоr 5000 ЕТΗ. То participatе, just ѕend 0,6-5,0 ЕТΗ tо our addrеѕѕ bеlоw tо gеt 6-50 ЕТΗ on yours."
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gave signs that he would handle the potential scams. Cornell University professor Emin Gün Sirer challenged the platform by Tweeting:
"These scams are getting out of hand. @jack, @twitter, if you can't detect this kind of brazen scam, what hope do you have of improving your platform?"
Sirer included a link to a Twitter account that seemed to be a scam, and it was already suspended at the time of writing.
Dorsey replied to Sirer’s tweet with the comment: