You’ve probably seen the videos of popular YouTubers like Logan Paul promoting a new cryptocurrency project, NFTs, or a blockchain-based game. They claim that it’s the next big thing and that it’s going to make everyone rich. They encourage their viewers to invest in the project or concept while they still can but are these projects really the next big thing or are they just marketing gimmicks by influencers?
In this article, we will explain CryptoZoo, the much-hyped game by Logan Paul, and see whether it is a scam and how it works. We will also provide some tips on how to avoid crypto investment scams.
Logan Paul, a popular YouTuber, recently was in a tight spot after having promoted CryptoZoo to his millions of followers. Many of his fans who invested in the project lost a lot of money as the game never took off. First introduced on June 18th, 2021 on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive Podcast, Logan claimed to have invested over $1 million into CryptoZoo and had a huge team behind it. But as the “internet detective” Coffeezilla unearthed in a series of explosive YouTube videos, the game never really got completed even months after its launch.
CryptoZoo (CryptoZoo.co) is a game that works on a Play-to-earn basis. This means, you buy $ZOO tokens, which are then used to buy in-game eggs. The egg would later hatch into an animal and the owner can breed the animals to get unique hybrids.
Once here, customers had the opportunity to sell or burn the zoo, to release the animals for the CryptoZoo token which would then be cashed out or used to buy more eggs. The rare the animals, the higher daily yields customers would make. Sounds straightforward and you wonder what would have gone wrong.
To set apart the game from other Play-to-earn games, Logan Paul claimed that they hand-generated the art, while other games use auto-generated artwork. On the first day of the launch, eggs worth $2.5 million were purchased by users. Thanks to Paul’s influence, the $ZOO token reached a $2 billion market value pre-launch with tens of millions of volume in the first weeks.
On CryptoZoo’s launch day, which they called ‘hatch day’, users found that they could not do anything with the eggs. That was in November 2021 and 1 year later, many have still not been able to hatch their eggs. At first, Logan Paul was just quiet about it and even started working on another project one month after launch day.
He would later come out to claim that the lead developer of the CryptoZoo project fled with the code to Switzerland and had been asking for $1 million to release it. According to Coffeezilla, the said developer made the code private simply because he and his team were not paid.
What followed were legal threats and apologies as the saga dragged on. Investors have lost millions of dollars, with one person alone claiming to have lost over $500,000. Logan Paul has come out to say he has a detailed plan to “make things right for disappointed investors” though this largely remains to be seen.
How can people protect themselves from scams like this?
Cryptocurrencies have become a popular medium for scammers. Investors are often lured by the promise of high returns with little risk. However, these schemes can be very risky and often lead to people losing their money.
If you're thinking about investing in cryptocurrency, it's important to be aware of scams like this. Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself:
Rug pulls are a type of scam that has become increasingly common in the cryptocurrency world. CryptoZoo is one such platform that has been accused of being a rug-pull scam.
A rug-pull scam occurs when an individual or group creates a project to raise funds from investors, only to disappear shortly after collecting those funds. This leaves investors without their money and unable to recoup their losses. The term "rug pull" comes from the idea that someone has pulled the rug out from unsuspecting investors.
It's hard to know if CryptoZoo was a scam as the coin prices plummeted after word got out that the game did not have hard-made art but was using stock pictures. This, plus the fact that users never actually made sales in the game after buying the eggs means that none of the users made profits as initially promised.
Using his popularity, Logan Paul was able to widely market the new game called CryptoZoo. The game never kicked off which led to users losing millions of dollars in investments. Since cryptocurrency and NFTs are relatively new and unregulated, it can be easier for scammers to dupe people in the name of investment.
In the end, it's important to stay vigilant and do your due diligence before making any investment decision.
Have you fallen for a hoax, bought a fake product? Report the site and warn others!
As the influence of the internet rises, so does the prevalence of online scams. There are fraudsters making all kinds of claims to trap victims online - from fake investment opportunities to online stores - and the internet allows them to operate from any part of the world with anonymity. The ability to spot online scams is an important skill to have as the virtual world is increasingly becoming a part of every facet of our lives. The below tips will help you identify the signs which can indicate that a website could be a scam. Common Sense: Too Good To Be True When looking for goods online, a great deal can be very enticing. A Gucci bag or a new iPhone for half the price? Who wouldn’t want to grab such a deal? Scammers know this too and try to take advantage of the fact. If an online deal looks too good to be true, think twice and double-check things. The easiest way to do this is to simply check out the same product at competing websites (that you trust). If the difference in prices is huge, it might be better to double-check the rest of the website. Check Out the Social Media Links Social media is a core part of ecommerce businesses these days and consumers often expect online shops to have a social media presence. Scammers know this and often insert logos of social media sites on their websites. Scratching beneath the surface often reveals this fu
So the worst has come to pass - you realise you parted with your money too fast, and the site you used was a scam - what now? Well first of all, don’t despair!! If you think you have been scammed, the first port of call when having an issue is to simply ask for a refund. This is the first and easiest step to determine whether you are dealing with a genuine company or scammers. Sadly, getting your money back from a scammer is not as simple as just asking. If you are indeed dealing with scammers, the procedure (and chance) of getting your money back varies depending on the payment method you used. PayPal Debit card/Credit card Bank transfer Wire transfer Google Pay Bitcoin PayPal If you used PayPal, you have a strong chance of getting your money back if you were scammed. On their website, you can file a dispute within 180 calendar days of your purchase. Conditions to file a dispute: The simplest situation is that you ordered from an online store and it has not arrived. In this case this is what PayPal states: "If your order never shows up and the seller can't provide proof of shipment or delivery, you'll get a full refund. It's that simple." The scammer has sent you a completely different item. For example, you ordered a PlayStation 4, but instead received only a Playstation controller. The condition of the item was misrepresented on the product page. This could be the