DXDEX.io FF9.io ESLab.io Scams and Crypto Dusting

I received some FF9.io in my Coinbase Wallet and wondered what were those.

I then realized this scam was repeated using different names like DxDex.io, Eslab.io within the same IP addresses. As these are the same form of attacks, I will just focus on the FF9.io that I received. 

Currently, when I try to search for FF9.io, it is not registered and redirects me to FF9.site instead. The IP address of FF9.site lead me to 211.152.146.74 which seem linked to Tencent hosting. This probably meant the creators were from China 

Based on Reddit and other research, it is a scam and sadly there is nothing better you can do but ignore it. Don't listen to any secret advice to go to any website to convert it as that is the intention.

Just look at Etherscan https://etherscan.io/token/0x34278f6f40079eae344cbac61a764bcf85afc949 and it has rated it as phishing/hack.

Source: Etherscan

You are one of the 106,102 of the FF9.io targeted (randomly I assumed) addresses that now hold the scammy token. It does seem randomly distributed as I checked some holders have almost nothing to hack 

I checked address 0xa1a12118415eec8290706d4d6e01b2bb605088b3 and this wallet only got maybe 5.09475 AAVE or $1,500 inside.

FF9.io Scam / DXDEX.io Scam / ESLAB.IO

The FF9.io is a scam that lures you to enter its phishing/scam websites to approve the scammer access to tokens in your wallet. The moment you commit to the phishing website to transfer the token, your wallets will be gone easily.

FF9.io price

The FF9.io tokens are worthless. They only exist to scam you or distract you, hoping you make the silly mistake of granting access.

What is FF9.io?

I thought there was some cool Final Fantasy token but there are no free lunches in this world.

Sending the tokens to a null address will cost you fees too so just learn to chill and ignore it. Transfering the token to a null address will also lead them to treat you as a hit and might send you more scammy tokens or customized a token to trick you.

Panayotis Vryonis, a Twitter user, went through the trouble of going to the website to find out more. It will look through your token holding and choose one for you to approve. I assumed it is randomly selected though.

Source: Twitter

What is a dusting attack in crypto?

A dusting attack is meant to sieve out your other addresses (hopefully with more tokens) with these sacrificial tokens (e.g. BTC). If they managed to woo you to transfer the tokens to your other addresses, they can link your other address and could target them further.

In details, a crypto transaction is made up of inputs and outputs.

• Inputs are UTxO (unspent transaction outputs) that are being sent, and
• Output is a new UTxO in the receiver’s wallet. 

That said, these useless tokens might not be called crypto dust and more of a phishing tokens.

Unless you’re a whale (a person with large holdings) or live in an area where personal safety, security or political instability is a common problem, dust attacks are more of an annoyance than a real concern. Crypto dust in your wallet doesn’t give anyone control of your funds.