Bitcoin miner scam?
Recently ordered bitcoin lottery miner on ebay. I got this email from the seller, regarding user manual had to be downoaded within 7 days. Of course via a clickable link. I wont do that because it seems scammy. Why would a user manual download be time sensitive?? Just wondering if anyone else here has similar experience, or more insight?
At this point will not even plug the the device in because I now don't trust the whole operation and who knows if its mining bitcoin or installing malware.
9 comments
gator08041971
·10 months ago@psidac
Actually, after reading your post, I looked them up. Ended up buying a unit for fun, and to see how to set it up.
There are lots of different ones of course, and choosing one with a higher hash rate will be preferable over a lower hash rate to increase your chances. (minuscule it may be regardless)
The one I picked up was a Lucky Miner LV07. (approx 1 TH/S) for $130 with tax. Shipping from US, but seller was out of China, which I found out AFTER I bought it.. (I REALLY hate that BTW. I don't want to buy from a China based seller and wish the filter would allow us to block the seller location AS WELL as the ship from location, but yet here we are)
As for the manual thing. That may be fine. If you aren't sure about the link, open it on a older computer or device that won't matter if its a bad link. Chances are, its just a manual on how to set it up.
Biggest thing to consider are your setup options. You can join a pool, which increases your chance of a payout, but it will be much smaller amounts as the pool shares the rewards they may find, or you can solo it. The "lottery" part is if your device happens to unlock an entire block. Which rewards you with about 3.12 Bitcoin. Currently equal to 300K-350k for a solo searcher, and probably way less if you are part of a pool as you have to share that reward for being in the pool.
You can setup a bitcoin through PayPal and get your own wallet code from there. That is used to deposit any "winnings" from your miner, less any transaction costs that PayPal may take out, or a pool may take for being part of one.
If this ends up being pretty simple to setup for me, I might end up running two of them. One in a pool and one on its own.
psidac
OP10 months agoThanks for the detailed answer. I am probably being hyper paranoid but as the whole idea is more of a whim, than any hope of ever making a dime, I think I'll just set up a raspberry pie. Rather than take a risk with an unknown chinese hardware. The seller had also contacted me about sending a newer model with different display, that plus the 7 day limit on the manual download just got my paranoia engine revving. By the way I hope you have some good luck with your miner!
randomandrich
·8 months agoEbay won't allow me to apply a gift card towards a purchase of a miner and it's **bleep** lame
[Message edited by mod]
kathiec
·8 months ago@randomandrich
EBay's clearly stated restrictions on what you can't purchase with gift cards:
"The Gift Card also may not be used to buy eBay Gift Cards, third party gift cards, gift certificates, coupons, coins, paper money, virtual currency, [emphasis mine] or items generally considered to be “bullion†(for example, gold, silver, and other precious metals in the form of coins, bars, or ingots)."
Reading the terms & conditions first is a recommended action.
mudshark61369
·10 months ago@psidac ,
My first thought was exactly what Simba6 wrote in their last sentence, It is very common for user manuals to have to be down loaded these days. You may get a very simple paper one with safety instructions and some start up info, but the downloaded one has all of the particulars. I would take a close look at the URL address to see if it mentions the device's manufacturer's name in it. You can look up free extensions like VirusTotal where you can run copy and paste a URL or IP addresses to it to check them for issues.
psidac
OP10 months agoIt was more about "download within 7 days" which felt very odd for a user manual to have a download time limit? That's what seemed a red flag to me...thoughts?
mudshark61369
·10 months ago@psidac ,
"It was more about "download within 7 days" which felt very odd for a user manual to have a download time limit? That's what seemed a red flag to me...thoughts?"
I have no explanation for that because it does not say "within 7 days of , A delivered scan, From date of purchase, or anything else.It could even be the seller being anxious about getting feedback or funds released if ebay is holding their payments.
psidac
OP10 months agoHmm, good points. Thanks!
simba6
·10 months agoIt's best to have another computer that has no personal info on it to use for such things. Just downloading a text file would not be an issue. However , if it wants you to install some reader program, then it gets a bit risky.
A stand alone mining system would not install malware into your computer. There is the question of just what it might be doing. You do need some understanding of the process. You should test it before the 30 day return on eBay closes in case there is a problem with it.
But it's not all that uncommon to have to down load a manual these days.