Bitcoin companies have been attracting a lot of attention from the illegal circuit on the Internet, which has lead to various hacking attempts and scam websites. Bitstamp, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges in the world, now has a mirror site which looks identically the same to the real version. However, depositing Bitcoin or fiat currency to this platform will result in financial losses, and users need to steer away from this fake platform as soon as possible.
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Typing in a web address can lead to various typing errors although there are usually no direct consequences for doing so. A wrong website URL will result in either a Google search with no results or a blank page. But in some cases, the result could be far more dire, which is exactly what can happen to those people mistyping the Bitstamp website.
Luckily for all parties involved, the fake website has been taken offline already, and users will not be able to access this scam platform. Bitsltamp, as this artificial platform was called, closely resembles the Bitstamp name, and can be counted as a common typo when trying to access the second site.
The primary goal of these phishing sites is to lure unsuspecting users into depositing funds in either Bitcoin or fiat currency. As the end user would see the site as Bitstamp – same layout, navigation, and whatnot – it could take a while until anyone discovered the truth about their missing funds. These types of sites are not as uncommon as one might think, though.
Despite the fake website being taken offline already, WHOIS records show an interesting piece of information. Albeit these details should be taken with a grain of salt, it looks like the Bitsltamp domain name was registered through a Russian service on February 2 of this year. Additionally, all of the WHOIS protection is registered to an address in Australia, which is a bit of a mystery.
It may seem odd to see someone register a Bitstamp site clone through a Russian provider, but there could be a bigger story going on behind the scenes. Some Bitcoin users might remember how the Bitstamp platform was inaccessible for Russian users until a few days ago. Was this someone luring Russian visitors to a dodgy website, or should this event be seen as a warning by Russian government officials who want to give the exchange a bad name?
The truth will never be revealed, unfortunately, however, Bitcoin users need to be extra careful about the addresses they enter in their browser windows. A fake website looking to steal your money might just be around the corner, and you might not realize it until it is too late.
Source: Reddit
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