Pepenode - Pepenode is a utility meme coin token designed to power the Pepenode ecosystem, a gamified virtual mining platform for meme coinsSocial Media Scams 3.0: When Bots Build Trust Before Betrayal
By Dr. Pooyan Ghamari, Swiss Economist and Visionary
2025 is the year the grift got patient. Scammers no longer blast “URGENT: CLAIM YOUR REWARD.” They court you. They study your memes, mimic your cadence, and wait six weeks before asking for a single wei. By then you’re not a mark—you’re a collaborator.
This is Social Media Scams 3.0: algorithmic seduction at scale.
The Four-Act Play
Act I – The Mirror (Week 1–2)
A fresh account slides into your mentions.
- Avatar: candid shot, slightly overexposed.
- Banner: sunset over Santorini (stock, but you were there last summer).
- First 30 tweets: 70 % reposts of your circle, 30 % mild hot takes you secretly agree with.
No follow request. No “hey bro.” Just quiet resonance. You follow back on day 9.
Act II – The Echo (Week 3–5)
The account begins creating content that flatters your expertise.
- “Thread: Why @YourHandle was right about L2 fee compression.”
- Spaces invite: “Quick 15-min alpha—@YourHandle, kick us off?”
You speak for seven minutes. The host nods, never interrupts. Engagement spikes. You screenshot the listener count (1.2K) and feel chosen.
Act III – The Whisper (Week 6–8)
DMs unlock. Tone: conspiratorial, never salesy.
“Between us—new perp DEX dropping tomorrow. Devs are ex-dYdX. 100-slot soft launch. I can slide you in if you’re liquid.”
Attachment: Google Drive deck, 12 slides, watermark “CONFIDENTIAL – NDA.” You open it. Fonts match the real project. TVL projections look conservative. You forward to two frens. They’re in.
Act IV – The Drain (Day 57)
The “onboarding portal” is a single-page dApp.
- Wallet connect → signature request → “Set spend limit: 500 USDC (gas refundable).” You sign. The contract is 4,200 lines. Line 3,912 revokes approvals to 0x000…dead.
Eleven seconds later your portfolio is dust. The account posts a single tweet—“Bear market got me, ngmi”—then deletes itself.
The Machine Under the Mask
| Component | Cost to Scammer | Effect on Victim |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 persona | $42/mo | Replies in your exact dialect |
| 12K engagement farm | $180 | Manufactures social proof |
| Deepfake voice clone | $8 | Passes Spaces “humanity” test |
| Drain contract | $0 (open-source) | Executes in <1 block |
| Total | <$250 | $750K avg take |
One team runs 40 concurrent marks. ROI: 3,000x.
Real Kill Chain (Anonymized)
Target: @DeFiDad_ (89K followers, $1.9M TVL) Scammer: @YieldSavant
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Feb 14 | Savant quotes Dad’s thread on gamma scalping |
| Mar 03 | Savant tags Dad in poll: “Best LRT?” |
| Mar 28 | DM: “Private beta—convex-style for LSTs” |
| Apr 19 | Portal: lst-yield.io (real: pendle.finance) |
| Apr 20 | $1.7M drained. Account now sells NFTs of sunsets. |
Your Active Defense Stack
1. Timeline Forensics
- New account? Check first 100 tweets. >60 % reposts = bot.
- Use nightshift.app—flags accounts <90 days old with >1K followers.
2. Off-Chain Proof-of-Life
- Demand 3-second video: “Hold up today’s coffee cup and say ‘pineapple.’”
- Real humans comply in <2 hours. Bots stall or ghost.
3. Wallet Archaeology
- Real alpha-givers have:
-
6 months tx history
- <10 % of volume to mixers
- ENS name registered pre-2025
-
- Check via DeBank before ever DMing.
4. Signature Theater
- Install Pocket Universe or Fire.
- Every signature pops a plain-English modal:
“This will let 0x9a...1f spend unlimited USDC.”
- If the modal says “unknown,” close tab.
5. Decoy Wallet
- Keep a hot wallet with $37 in SHIB and a flashy ENS.
- Scammers bite, waste weeks, expose their playbook.
Psychological Off-Ramp
The trap is flattery. You’re not being robbed—you’re being recruited into an elite circle. Counter it with a 24-hour rule:
No wallet action within 24 hours of any DM.
Sleep on it. The “100-slot round” will still be there if it’s real. If it vanishes, you dodged a bullet.
High-Net-Worth Protocol
- Zero DM alpha. All real deals announced publicly.
- Social recovery vault—3 trusted frens can freeze funds if you tweet “SAFEWORD: aurora.”
- Public bounty—10 % of drained funds to any researcher who reports the exploit before funds exit Tornado Cash.
Closing Axiom
In 2025, the most expensive wallet is the one that trusts its notifications.
Bots don’t need your password. They need your vanity.
Starve them.
Dr. Pooyan Ghamari Swiss Economist and Visionary