I need help (warning shitcoins may be involved) \ stacker news ~mostly

I need help (warning shitcoins may be involved)

4908 sats \ 30 comments \ @BlokchainB 6 Mar mostly_harmless

I need some help. Long story short I got scammed on a yield site. I knew it was a scam but it got away from me and now I’m in this situation.

So the scammy website is trying to pay me back what they owe me. They always say I need to pay some “fee” to get my funds back. But now this new method has me completely fooled on what’s going on.

For the record I don’t shitcoin but to have a chance to get back what I’m owed i figured hey what do I have to loose.

So the site had me download the coinbase wallet (this wallet is pretty slick I see why shitcoiners like it) and had me put in these details in the network section of the wallet:

Download the Coinbase Wallet for NFTs and crypto.
Open the app and go to Settings.
In Settings, click on "Networks" and then tap the "+" button at the top right to add custom networks.
Fill in the details for the new network as follows:

Network Name: BTC
RPC URL: rpc-testnet.zcore.network
Chain ID: 3331
Currency Symbol: BTC
Block Explorer URL (optional): www.blockchain.com/explorer

Click "Add Network" to complete the addition of the new network.
Once the settings are correctly in place, go to your assets and click the "Receive" button at the top right.
Copy your Bitcoin wallet address and send it here.
Also, copy your Ethereum wallet address and send it here.
Wait for the assets to be credited to your wallet. It should take less than 24 hours if you've followed the instructions correctly.

Please ensure that you correctly follow each step to set up your wallet without issues.

After about 24 hours an asset labeled “BTC” showed up in my coinbase wallet. Completely flabbergasted on possibly finally getting paid back. But then I was confused the balance wasn’t available.

Then they instructed the following to make the “BTC” into the active balance of wallet the instructions are as follows:

Here's how you can do it:

-Navigate to the primary wallet address you've been using, often referred to as address 1.

Within your wallet, look for an option titled "Add wallets" or similar.
Select "Add address" within this section. This action will generate a new wallet address for you, which we'll call address 2.
Switch over to address 2.
Find and enter the "Networks" section.
Here, you'll need to delete the custom network that was previously added.
After successfully deleting the custom network from address 2, navigate back to your initial wallet or address 1.

After I did that the “BTC” was now looks as if it is on the bitcoin network. I am completely confused on what’s going on here.

When I try to send it anywhere the app just says “something is wrong”. I do think it’s an ERC-20 token of some sort but I can’t even send it to an ETH address.

The site is saying they used this method to pay other people back and I need to wait for the funds to unlock and for the network operator to give me instructions to send this “BTC” to my personal wallet.

If anyone can explain to me what the hell is going on I will pay them a 25k sat bounty. But the more detailed you are the more I will pay. If you are able to help me change this “BTC” to get the true value out of this mess then a massive award can be had.

I know this is a bitcoin only site but I really need help on trying to understand this and I am hoping some stacker can help a fellow stacker.

Thanks

25,000 sats paid

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156 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby 6 Mar

Friend, I don't know quite what you got going on here, but I think your money is gone.

If I had to guess: they had you give them btc and they are "paying you back" with testnet coins which are not worth anything.

In their docs they say that the don't have a live version yet.

Sorry for your loss.

488 sats \ 0 replies \ @doofus 6 Mar

The scam involves instructing you to add a custom network to their cryptocurrency wallet. This network, as described in your case, doesn't follow the standard specifications of established blockchain networks (e.g., Bitcoin's mainnet or Ethereum's mainnet). The custom network settings (like the RPC URL and Chain ID you mentioned) lead your wallet to interact with a blockchain that is controlled or influenced by the scammers, not the legitimate Bitcoin or Ethereum networks.

The asset labeled "BTC" that appeared in your wallet is likely not real Bitcoin. They control the issuance and transferability of these tokens on their custom blockchain or network, making it seem like you've received actual currency when, in fact, you've received a token with no recognized value outside their controlled environment.

If it were genuine Bitcoin, you would be able to send it to any Bitcoin address without issues. The same goes for legitimate ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network; they can be transferred to any Ethereum address, assuming you have enough ETH to cover gas fees.

Do not pay any more fees or follow additional instructions that involve sending money or valuable information to the scammers. Keep a detailed record of all communications, transactions, and steps you've been instructed to take.

Genuine Bitcoin transactions do not require the involvement of custom networks or ERC-20 tokens, as Bitcoin operates on its own blockchain with its distinct protocols and addresses.

260 sats \ 1 reply \ @frostdragon 6 Mar

Unfortunately it’s likely your funds are gone…

Here’s probably what happened:

The custom network instructions are probably a tactic used to create the illusion of legitimate activity in your wallet and manipulate transactions in a controlled environment, which is not part of the genuine Bitcoin (or ETH) network.

The asset labeled “BTC” in your wallet is likely not real Bitcoin, but a custom token designed to mimic Bitcoin. Its non-transferability suggests it’s a fake asset, created to trick you into believing you’ve received actual btc…

And lastly, the instructions to switch between addresses and modify network settings are likely designed to confuse you and create a false sense of technical necessity. The complexity and the false promise of unlocking funds are also tactics to prolong the scam and keep getting you to pay fees.

Do you mind sharing the website? I’d be curious to take a look at this myself.

Either way, best thing to do is stop engaging altogether. Red flag #1 is always “pay us a little money so you can get a lot of money”. I have close friends who have fallen for stuff like this, it can be pretty convincing sometimes. Sorry that happened to ya.

Have a few sats back on me, hope you didn’t lose too much.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB OP 6 Mar

Here is the site

https://hillstoneglobal.org/

Thanks for your kind words. I made peace of the funds being gone. I know some others that got completely ruined and had to declare bankruptcy

226 sats \ 11 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 6 Mar

Hi! I think you may have been scammed. They are first getting you to interact with an EVM (ethereum compat) chain called zcore. Zcore appears to be a cheap knockoff ethereum clone.

I am guessing they are giving you fake 'bitcoin' which are something like ERC-20 tokens on a zcore, and trying to make you think this is real Bitcoin on the Bitcoin blockchain.

There is no reason the smart contract that is powering whatever scam token even permits sending. If you are willing to share addresses, we might be able to determine more.

When you switch addresses like that, it causes the wallet to refresh the token balances.

I suspect the attacker is not related to zcore, they are simply using their testnet to scam people.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @BlokchainB OP 6 Mar

Yeah I knew my funds were gone just wanted to see if this was the end and it appears so. It stinks but I think I can finally move on from all this

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 6 Mar

Would you share a screenshot of the wallet? Maybe we could see. Redact the addresses / amount if you dont wish to share the details.

0 sats \ 8 replies \ @BlokchainB OP 6 Mar

Bitcoin: bc1qk6vsdyaeglmmr33yutr25fnl7j3fxqspm75m4u

Ethereum: 0x22c4ccC059393495cF79b60b34Ed3C5A87b4dbAa

25.1k sats \ 7 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 7 Mar

Thank you for sharing. I can see that 3 days ago someone transferred 1.84 ZCR coins on testnet to your wallet (scammer?).

These are "ZCR" coins, but the scammer instructed you to override the label on these coins with "BTC".

So you own 1.84 ZCR testnet coins, but the Coinbase wallet reports them as "BTC". but this is just a text label. They are not ERC-20s, but the native gas coin of zcore testnet.

That bitcoin address is empty. I think the coin is gone, very sorry.

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @ek 7 Mar

That bitcoin address is empty. I think the coin is gone, very sorry.

It never arrived on that address though. No transactions were seen involving this address.

If @BlokchainB really send bitcoin from mainnet (which hold value unlike testnet coins), his wallet shouldn't even allow to create such a transaction to some other net. Addresses are prefixed with their network (mainnet, testnet, regtest, signet) and you can definitely not send something from bitcoin mainnet to some ZCR testnet.

So I am still confused what exactly happened here. @BlokchainB, is that really the address to which you sent your coins or is this some deposit address you are getting now?

How did you send your coins?

Here, you'll need to delete the custom network that was previously added.

Maybe this was a cover-up for them. Maybe you can't find the actual deposit address in the Coinbase wallet anymore. But the wallet from which you sent the coins should still show it?

1008 sats \ 2 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 7 Mar

I think the idea is they are meant to send the coins from that zcore wallet to the address he provided, this is the 'scam' part.

OP provided payment through other means not documented here. We don't need to know this, this is private to OP.

They are making the zcore testnet coins look like "BTC" on "BTC" on the coinbase wallet. Its designed to confuse the user into thinking testnet coins are bitcoin. Thats the flourish.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @BlokchainB OP 7 Mar

Yeah I’m still talking to their customer service and they are saying I was paid and I need to talk to the network provider and pay a fee to finally withdraw to a personal wallet.

If you guys only knew how many times I paid a “fee” to get my own money back it’s laughable. But once you get in that’s how they kept me on this emotional roller coaster

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 7 Mar

I don't know this Reddit thread is related, but has more details:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrencies/comments/mejj0b/beware_of_hillstone_token_scam_that_selfclaim/

Still talking to their customer service!!! If you can, make recordings. They will be most useful one day. These folks are not friends and I doubt they can help you, only try to scam you more. Scammers destroy value. Put them out of business.

If this amount is what I think it is, you may wish to log a case with the financial authorities. This is entirely up to you if you wish to seek help from the authorities.

https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2023/PSA230824

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @BlokchainB OP 7 Mar

Thanks for going the extra mile and explaining the this to me. I paid you the bounty.

Now I have a much better understanding of how they pulled this nonsense off.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 7 Mar

Thank you for the bounty, and thank you for giving the community the opportunity to document this attack -- and hopefully it is avoided in future.

There should be enough details here that it will show up for a search about:

hillstone global testnet zcore BTC scam

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB OP 7 Mar

That is part of the reason I posted on SN I wanted to have a more technical discussion here on like what happened how can this company send my these fake ass tokens but yet trying to convince me they paid me back.

If you search the web about this company nothing shows up! And they are still Active meaning they are still working the scam!

261 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 6 Mar

I'm sorry to hear you've been caught up in a scam, they didn't send you any money, unfortunately,

With an EVM chain you have one address that can be used on multiple EVM networks, including the testnet, but they are not interoperable with one another.

RPC URL: rpc-testnet.zcore.network

Is a testnet, the fact that you call the network BTC is a misdirection, they've sent you ERC-20 tokens called BTC on a testnet from a smart contract they must have spun up there to try to pretend they can issue withdrawals and send users on a goose chase

That second set of instructions is just a bunch of gobblygook, it makes no sense you wouldn't be able to see those tokens without the custom testnet network

Testnet tokens are worthless, they cannot be swapped to mainnet or bridged to any other network because there is no corresponding contract on the mainnet or liquidity pool to allow you to swap

Unfortunately, all you have is worthless tokens you can send to other testnet users

113 sats \ 2 replies \ @Coinsreporter 6 Mar

Greed! Greed! Greed! There's a lesson. Why get greedy when Bitcoin itself got you more than 200% returns in a year? Secondly, nothing is lost until you really think that everything is lost. Start again from whatever you are left with, if that's your mistake accept it.