A stream of emails flows into your inbox. Some emails go unnoticed while others with new addresses are scrutinized. Your inbox is working lately and an email with the address like bitnation-blog.com arrives. Is the email worth your time? Is it misleading? Is it a scam? Is it worth your time?
We aim to analyze the current website and dig into the story behind the name Bitnation. We aim to explain the associated risks with emails of this domain, give you tips on handling these emails and providing a strategy for dealing with phishing emails. We aim to help you understand the risks and improve your practices.
What is the old Bitnation?
To understand the context, we need to understand the project in old Bitnation. Tempelhof Susanne Tarkowski initiated the project in 2014. It advanced and initiated a new idea in the blockchain ecosystem. It sought to develop a new ecosystem with blockchain technology to develop a 'voluntary nation' to provide governance services in a decentralized model.
The main purpose was to incorporate blockchain technology to create a decentralized digital nation where participants could use blockchain to create self-governing identity services, decentralized smart legal contracts, and automated governance dispute services. This digital nation allowed people to engage and conduct their administration independent of any country government, to which the digital nation and its services are designed for. This concept garnered much attention and was dubbed as the first "Governance 2.0".
Bitnation created an application called Pangea that permitted users to establish personal online "nations" where they could register and record various life events such as marriages and the purchase of land, which would be secured on the blockchain. This was accompanied by a partnership with the Estonia e-Residency program and various attempts to provide blockchain-identified refugees. Due to their innovative efforts, they won a UNESCO award in 2017.
Nonetheless, these developments faced various difficulties, including the downturn in the cryptocurrency market in 2018 and growing regulation of the industry. This environment proved unsustainable for the project, and by August 2022 the original bitnation.co domain was sold and the project ceased to exist. The original team became inactive, which left the name "Bitnation" available for use by any interested party.
Researching About Emails Bitnation-Blog
This website offers cryptocurrency news, trading advice, and associated educational content. On their webpage, the welcome message says, “With this content, we intend to help you master the crypto space and provide you with the expert insights you need.” The site contains almost everything about crypto and its trading, as well as casino crypto games and warnings about losing money.
The site includes posts featuring the name “Bitnation.” This name can lead to connections with posts from the original project arguing about “the future of global governance".
The site has news and information about the cryptocurrency industry, blogs, and educational content. This makes this site using this name confusing. This blog has new and old information about cryptocurrency. Using the name this name further hurts their image, as this project has been closed.
Why Emails from @bitnation-blog.com Raise Concerns
Every time you receive emails bitnation-blog.com, be cautious. There are many reasons to be careful and this email account, and its associated website, signals potential issues.
Borrowing the Trust and Misleading Associations
The most serious case at hand involves the name **Bitnation.** Although the original project is over abd dead, the name still carries some lineage equity, as it built a recognizable brand around decentralization and blockchain governance. With the use of the name, the blog might be borrowing the goodwill of the original idea. This is a common practice with malicious actors who set up scam sites, fake emails, and other phishing instruments that impersonate trustworthy organizations. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings about unauthorized actors on the internet bearing names like **Bit Nation** and has been reported targeting users.
Inconsistencies and Unverified Information
It offers a strongly worded warning on the site bitnation-blog.com. In the Flashflyer Magazine investigation, a sample of the site’s privacy policy enlisted the address “2345 Vyntheris Road, Qylarith, WV 13829” as a site presumed to be fully fictitious. The town and road do not exist. Trustworthy organizations provide real contact information to their audience; the use of fake addresses is a major warning.
Hidden Ownership and Technical Information
Additional research indicates that the domain’s owner does not disclose this information and is also using a privacy shield service. While this is not always automatic indication of evil behavior, when one considers the site’s not being transparent, one can trust this site and organization less. This site being hosted on a shared server is also sighted by other reviews of forums and blogs, but this too is less likely with large and reputable organizations. This given situation does add some transparency, and the site does have some reputation lackings.
What can be done to protect one self from Scam and Phishing emails
One does not need to be an Information Security Specialist to protect one against harmful emails. Learning a few habits can greatly reduce the risk of falling prey to a scam.
1. Examine the Sender’s Email Address in Greater Depth
Always check the sender’s full email address. Scammers mispelled domains that on first glance might look like that of a legit entity (e.g., bitnati0n-blog.com with a zero instead of an ‘o’). Prior to clicking on anything that might reveal a harmful website, one must hover their mouse over the sender name to view the full email address.
2. Refrain from Being Rushed or Concerning Language or Unprompted Offers
Emails generated by scammers try their utmost to incite urgency or glee. Try to keep your guard up from emails warning red alerts going off, urgent action is needed, or “surprise we gave you free stuff!” emails. The professional world is composed of tame and orderly emails, and scammers are not from this world.
3. Review the Destination of the Link Prior to Clicking
You should not ever click a link without acting to verify the destination first. Doing this is easy by simply hovering your mouse over the link, and checking the preview at the bottom of the window. A link saying bitnation-blog.com is not the same as one saying a random unclear link.
4. Always Verify Real Acounts By the Author of The Email
If you are ever faced with doubt due to an email or webpage, always run a risk from the source to the net. The net is an enormous word of mouth encyclopedia, used with queries like “is ‘[website name]’ safe?” or “scam [website name]?” should lead you to a webpage or net source. Always check for internet safety reviewing pages, that are used to provide insight.
5. Setup Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
If possible, enable 2FA on any significant accounts that relate to your personal finances, or cryptocurrencies. Having to verify your identity via another medium, such as a code sent via SMS, makes it considerably less likely that someone will be able to access your accounts, even if they have your password.
The Conclusion: Exercise Caution
This website is active and running. However, the emails that come from this domain are dubious at best. This is a site that trades off the name of an abandoned project, it has a fictitious address, and the registration details are concealed. This is extremely concerning and suggests a degree of opacity that makes the site far from reputable.
We strongly recommend exercising caution when you receive emails @bitnation-blog especially not clicking any links or opening any attachments. Though we have no concrete evidence of any harmful actions, the signs are clearly pointing to the possible existence of harmful actions. Therefore, a combination of a high level of caution and good email management is the best defense, and will keep your risks to a minimum.
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