Discord Name and Shame Scam Explained

This article is from Trend Micro.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that we post about lots of different scams. Many of them are very similar in design and execution, but every so often one comes along that is so clever and wicked it makes you wonder how anyone was even able to conceive it.

This post will discuss one of those scams: the Discord name and shame scam. This scam is so cunning that you need to keep reading.

Name and Shame Discord Scam

We began to see examples of this scam appearing online just a few days ago. Many people have posted about it since, concerned about whether the message they’ve been sent on Discord is real or not. Below are some examples.

Source: Reddit

Source: Twitter

Message text:
<START>
heyy ummm idk what happened or if its really you but it was your name and the same avatar and you sent a girl erm ** stuff like what the fuck ? <URL> check #exposed and youll see. anyways until you explain what happened im blocking you. sorry if this is a misunderstanding but i do not wanna take risks with having creeps on my friendslist.
<END>

In both the above screenshots — as well as all the other examples we’ve seen — the content of the messages is always the same. It is designed to scare potential victims into clicking on the Discord server invite. Judging by the fact the content never changes, it’s very likely the message is doing its job exceptionally well, too.

It’s not hard to see why it would be so effective either. When people are involved in such scandals, it can be potentially life-ruining. Regardless of whether they believe it’s impossible that they’re embroiled in such a situation or not, many people are going to be strongly tempted to click the Discord invite button — especially because it was sent to them by one of their friends! Or at least it appears this way…

Discord Shaming Server Scam Explained

Here is a rundown of how the scam works:

1. A scammer compromises a victim’s Discord account and sends the name and shame Discord message to everyone on their friend list. The people who receive the message are much more likely to trust it because it appears as though it was sent by one of their friends.
2. When a victim clicks on the Discord invite button, they will be required to “verify” their Discord account by scanning a QR code. If the victim scans the QR code, the scammers will have access to their account too, and will then send name and shame scam messages to all their Discord friends, creating a snowball effect.
3. The scammers are free to do whatever they wish with the compromised accounts. They can send the victims’ friends various other types of scam messages — perhaps Discord Nitro scam messages or cryptocurrency scam messages.

How to Protect Yourself

If you are a victim of the Discord name and shame scam, the first thing you should do is reset your password. If your Discord account was linked to other social media accounts, you should also consider unlinking them. You can do so in the Discord app by going to Settings > Connections.

For those of you looking to stay safe from such scams, here are some tips:

Be wary of any threatening messages, or messages that request that you perform some kind of action — even if they appear to have been sent by your friends or family.
Don’t scan suspicious QR codes. Doing so can lead to your account getting compromised.
If you haven’t already, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your account.
Use Trend Micro Check to stay one step ahead of the scammers.
 
Trend Micro Check — our 100% FREE browser extension and mobile app — can protect you against scams, malicious websites, dangerous emails, and lots more! If you come across something dangerous online, you’ll be alerted in real time so you’ll know to stay well clear.

So, what are you waiting for? Download Trend Micro Check for FREE today!

Source: Pexels.com