Sony’s blockchain venture Soneium has a phishing scam issue

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—by Protos Staff

A quick search on Google for Sony’s blockchain ecosystem Soneium reveals a deceptive top result that, if engaged with, will instantly drain your wallet.

This phishing scam abuses Google’s ad service in order to reach the very top of its search results. On the outset, everything looks kosher — the link appears to be legit (soneium.org) and the description, though a little buzzword-y, rings true.

“Soneium Minato Testnet — Soneium enables developers and users to bridge creative ideas with cutting-edge technology,” the top result for ‘Soneium’ on Google reads. “Soneium offers a user-friendly environment that connects innovative minds worldwide.”

Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing this deceptive site is connecting. After several redirects, the ad will take you to ‘someium.org.’ A carbon copy of soneium.org, users could easily mistake it for the real thing. If they were to connect their wallet, the phishing scam will immediately drain their funds.

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This concerning mirror site was initially flagged by Scam Sniffer on X (formerly Twitter). The sleuths warned followers that, even if soneium is misspelled as someium, the top result will likely be the same phishing scam.

To avoid this Soneium phishing scam, make sure to always check the final URL. Phishing ads disguise as official domains through multiple redirects, as is the case here — meaning that even if the link you click on appears legit, the site you end up on may have an entirely different URL.

Protos has reported the ad to Google.

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