Fraudulent version of Four.meme platform makes top search result on Google

A fraudulent platform disguised as popular memecoin launchpad “Four.meme” ascended to the top of Google search results in a phishing campaign designed to deceive users into engaging with the malicious clone website.

Phishing attacks have become prevalent in crypto, evolving with current industry trends and technological advancements to exploit people. The latest entity to become the tool to mislead unsuspecting victims is the memecoin launchpad, “Four.meme” on the Binance Smartchain Network (BSC).

The “Four.meme” phishing attack was highlighted by cybersecurity analyst @realScamSniffer in a tweet on X, who noted the malicious site’s climb in search rankings. The phishing site used Google ads to place its website at the top of the first page of search results, luring unsuspecting users who fell victim to the scam.

? Phishing Alert: @four_meme_ users targeted on Google search!
? Protect your assets—avoid simple mistakes. Stay safe and alert! ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/QN9E89D2gi

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) February 18, 2025

Four.meme platform becomes attractive to crypto criminals

This latest Four.meme-linked phishing attempt comes about a week after the launchpad was exploited, with over $183,000 stolen in assets. In response, the platform had to temporarily stop creating new liquidity pools for projects launching: “To ensure security, token LP launched on @PancakeSwap is temporarily suspended and will be reopened once our development team completes the fix. On-chain trading is operating normally.”

The Four.meme team reassured its community that internal funds are safe, and “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide timely updates to the community.”

This incident is not isolated. There are steady reports about crypto scams and other crypto-related cybercrime.

In 2024, the North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group was implicated in several high-profile heists, resulting in a cumulative $1.3 billion in losses and about a third of reported global crypto hacks.

In January 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James exposed a scheme that defrauded her constituents of over $2.2 million. In that case, the scammers advertised high-paying remote jobs to mislead victims to transfer funds into their crypto accounts.

The impact of these phishing and other crypto hacks goes beyond the immediate financial loss. Businesses face reputational damage, operational disruption, and confidence in the market. In Four.meme’s case, the BSC-based platform had to pause the creation of new liquidity pools while trying to fix the exploit.

Crypto criminals use authority figures in social engineering scams

In February 2025, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong’s image was used in a crypto scam ad on X. The promotions falsely claimed that she had been jailed for discussing a crypto investment, aiming to deceive users into clicking on malicious links.

BBC broadcaster Nick Robinson’s X account was hacked and used to promote a scam crypto $TODAY. In the post, the hackers praised the business acumen of Donald Trump, who had previously launched a successful memecoin as part of their strategy to associate the link to the American president.

Similar to Donald Trump, Argentine President Javier Milei was involved in the launch of the $LIBRA memecoin on February 14, 2025. The president of the South American nation now faces intense scrutiny for promoting the memecoin that was marketed as a mechanism to stimulate the Argentine economy via financing of small businesses.

$LIBRA experienced a short-lived boom in value before it collapsed, causing massive financial losses for investors. Critics have labeled the experiment a certified “rug pull” scam, where promoters and insiders made away with massive gains and left a majority of investors with useless assets.

Source