FSS Issues 'Caution' Consumer Alert Over Fake Chain Scams Impersonating GIWA

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has issued a consumer alert following a series of scams involving fake chains impersonating "GIWA," a blockchain network currently under development by Dunamu.

The FSS announced that it issued the consumer alert today (October 22).

This action follows a case highlighted during the FSS parliamentary audit on October 19, where a scam organization stole approximately 2.8 billion won by impersonating the blockchain GIWA chain.

The FSS explained, "On-chain-based virtual asset scams complete fund movements and thefts at ultra-high speeds within minutes to hours, making damage relief extremely difficult," adding, "This is to prevent additional damage caused by novel on-chain scam methods."

The scam organization lured investors through false promotions such as a "surprise opening of the network (mainnet)" on social media networking services (SNS) and online communities, and then induced them to transfer virtual assets by creating a fake network.

While the official network chain ID of GIWA is "91342," the scam organization fabricated a similar chain ID, such as "9134."

Users deposited Ethereum into a fake network bridge (a device for transferring virtual assets between blockchains), and the scam organization embezzled it.

The FSS advised, "Bridges and smart contracts supporting mainnets that have not yet been officially launched or are under development are 100 percent scams," urging users to "always check notices on official websites and not trust other information."

It also emphasized that marketing campaigns from new and unverified networks featuring "surprise launches" or "airdrops" are highly likely to be scams, and noted that transactions through decentralized exchanges (DEX) make damage recovery difficult if a scam occurs.

The FSS stated, "We plan to have virtual asset service providers preparing to develop new blockchains publicize their development progress and guide users on related precautions."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.