Scam Token Tied to Squid Game Loses 99% on Base

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As a seasoned crypto investor with battle scars from more pump-and-dump schemes than I care to remember, this SQUID token fiasco is just another reminder of why we can’t ever let our guard down in this wild west of digital assets. The audacity of these scammers to capitalize on the popularity of Squid Game, a show I binge-watched during my recent bout of insomnia, is both infuriating and comically predictable.

Just like fans of Netflix’s Squid Game are captivated by the show’s fictional cryptocurrency plotline for Season 2, scammers have seized the opportunity presented by the series’ resurgence in popularity. They’ve introduced a counterfeit ‘Squid Game’ token on the Binance Smart Chain (Base blockchain). This token, unsurprisingly called SQUID, has plummeted by 99% as part of a typical pump-and-dump scheme.

Peckshield issued a cautionary tweet, yet by then, the value of the token had already vanished within mere hours.

The fraudulent activity was strategically set up as a “buy-high-sell-high” trick, where the organizer controlled most of the token inventory to manipulate market prices. Unfortunately, investors who jumped on the bandwagon based on the excitement are now facing substantial financial losses.

A “pump-and-dump” trick refers to a deceptive practice where swindlers inflate the value of an asset by promoting it vigorously (raising its worth or “pumping”), followed by selling their shares at the height of the price surge (disposing or “dumping”). The consequence is that the asset’s price plummets, leaving those who bought in during the hype with substantial losses.

Currently, as I’m typing this, the value of the SQUID token, just nine hours old, has plummeted by 100% and is now trading at $0.0111255.

The fraudulent scheme is linked to the excitement surrounding the release of Squid Game Season 2, specifically Episode 3. In this episode, Character 333, Lee Myeong-gi, challenges the guards for his wallet and phone. It turns out that he operated a YouTube channel, “MG Coin,” which advertised a cryptocurrency that ultimately failed, resulting in a financial loss of approximately 15.2 billion won for him.

It’s possible that scammers took advantage of the show’s widespread fame by linking their cryptocurrency scheme to its plot, making it seem more authentic. However, this digital coin wasn’t actually connected to the program itself. Instead, they cashed in on the buzz generated by the new episodes.

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2024-12-27 17:57