The essence of the WAXP/TLOS scam (arbitrage):
Scammers on Telegram (often posing as "arbitrage experts" like Lucas) offer "risk-free arbitrage" between exchanges. You buy a token on one exchange and transfer it to another, supposedly at a more favorable rate. In reality, the money goes to the scammer.
The main stages of the scam:
- Contact and Warm-up You receive a message on Telegram offering free training in arbitrage with a guaranteed profit of 5–30% per trade. They show screenshots of "successful" withdrawals.
- Test trade (small amount) You buy WAXP / TLOS (or a similar token) on one exchange (Bitget, MEXC, etc.). You transfer it to another exchange (Bybit, Binance, etc.) following the scammer’s instructions. They use MEMO and similar account names. After 30–60 minutes, you actually receive the amount plus a "profit" (the scammer sends it from a different address to build trust).
- Rate increase After a successful test transaction, they try to convince you to send a large sum (ranging from $500 to $5,000 or more). They promise a quick return with a profit.
- Disappearance After a large transfer, the money disappears. The scammer blocks the chat. The withdrawal is "stuck," "requires an additional deposit," or there is simply no response.
Why it works (technical explanation):
- Blockchains WAX, TLOS (Telos), EOS use human-readable account names (account names instead of long addresses) + MEMO-tag.
- Scammers create accounts with very similar names on different platforms:
- For example: bybitwaxonly, bitgetdetlos, waxponbitget, coinex1e1dep, etc.
- When you copy the "deposit address + MEMO" from one exchange and withdraw tokens from another exchange, the tokens are sent to scammer's network, rather than on the stock market.
Examples of scams (real-life schemes):
- WAXP Classics: Purchase on Bitget → withdrawal to Bybit, supposedly as WAXP. The address bybitwaxonly was registered by a scammer on a different network.
- TLOS variant: The same applies to Telos. Addresses such as bitgetdetlos and coinex1e1dep on the TLOS network.
- Cross-chain arbitrage: STEEM → IOST, TLOS → WAXP, EOS → TLOS, etc. (using similar MEMO accounts).
Examples of Explorer transactions/accounts (for verification):
- A typical TLOS scam account: coinex1e1dep (on Telos Explorer, not on CoinEx) https://explorer.telos.net/account/coinex1e1dep
- Equivalents on WAX/EOS: Look for waxponbitget, bybitwaxonly, etc., on the respective block explorers (bloks.io, wax.bloks.io, telos.bloks.io).
The main rule: Never make withdrawals based on instructions from Telegram. Always verify the deposit address on the exchange’s official website and ensure it matches the network.
Or better yet, don't get involved in this at all.
WAX, TLOS, EOS, and similar platforms are niche blockchains riddled with vulnerabilities, weak security, and mechanics that are highly conducive to scams (named accounts + MEMO). They are rarely used by ordinary traders, making them ideal for such schemes. The risk is enormous, and there is no real profit to be made from “arbitrage” following such instructions.