It's a google chrome extension that checks whether you're using the correct URL or not. You can't bookmark everything and especially if you're on new sites that you never visited before, Cryptonite is an additional layer of security.
I'm truly sorry for OP.
I'm working on a thread that warns from such kind of scams, I'll add what happened to you. We need to make people aware of things like that.
Part 1 - Scam WebsitesSituation/Danger:A fairly simple and unfortunately widely used form of scam is the cloning of a well-known website in order to fool the victim by giving it a false sense of security with the one goal: to get its data.
Normaly you can see whether a website is legit or not by checking the green "https" in front of the URLSo always be on the lookout for a green "
Secure" and "
https" in front of the URL address of a website. This is a sign that the website and the company have received the proper Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates. Obtaining an SSL certificate indicates that the company behind the page can be trusted, normally (later more on that).
If you are attentive, you can easily see that it is not a legitimate site or legitimate entity because it doesn't have the proper certification to be trusted.
Coinsmarkets.com has neither a green "
Secure" nor "
https" infront of the URL. Instead, it has a gray "Not Secure" and a regular "http" in front of the URL.
As a rule, scam pages are quickly detected and removed. If you are now trying to visit coinsmarkets.com (please do not;)) you will receive an error message.
However, some scam sites have found a way to display the green "secure" and "https" in the website URL, and then make an incredibly subtle change to the URL.At first glance, URL for the popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance seems quite legitimate. You can clearly see the green "https" in front of the website URL and also the name seems to be correct.
It usually is more or less impossible to know how a site obtained an SSL certificate that allows them to display the green "https" in front of the URL. This also applies to scammer pages. At the same time, getting an SSL certificate from a less trusted certificate issuer is pretty easy.
If you take a closer look at the second picture, you will see small dots under the letters "n" in the word "binance".
The two dots under the Binance URL show that this is not the real Binance page. Instead, it's a very well-made clone of the page, whose sole purpose is to tap user data that unsuspecting users enter there. Even an activated 2FA authentication does not protect you, as a scammer can enter this data immediately after you have entered it on the real Binance page, where it will still be valid. Thus, he gets access to the account from then on.
Especially wicked are those pages that show an error message after the first log in, saying: "The service is temporarily unreachable, please try again in 10 minutes." In this way, the user doesn't even suspect that he has just revealed his data and a scammer uses it to gain access to the user's account.
If the user then tries to log back in 10 minutes later, he gives the scammer a second 2FA code, which he may use to initiate a transaction or even disable 2FA.
Even if you are attentive, such a site can be difficult to spot because everything seems familiar at first glance.The example shown here is called
PunyCode, which is used to create certain special characters (here the dot under the letter "n").
In another example, Bittrex was linked and used the cedilla under the "r" (looks like a comma). Cedillas are widely used in languages such as French and Portuguese.
Example for PunyCode:
müller.de → xn--mller-kva
übung.de → xn--bung-zra.de
dömäin.com → xn--dmin-moa0i.com
äaaa.com → xn--aaa-pla.com
déjà.vu.com → xn--dj-kia8a.vu.com
ñandú.com → xn--and-6ma2c.com
Tipps:In principle, you can not say 100% whether a page is "real" or not. There are only a few things to keep in mind.
4 simple steps, 4 simple steps with which you can check most pages (if it is an established page):
1. Google the page and look at the results. It's best to use an add-blocker such as
uBlock Origin so you do not accidentally click on an ad link (popular trap).
2. Check the URL for presence of
https . Many fake sites use only the http protocol
3. See if the connection is identified as safe by the browser (
lock must be green ). In addition, you can still click on the lock to see the details.
4. Check the URL yourself. Look at whether special characters have been used or whether PunyCode can be found in the URL. The best way to copy the URL again directly into the Google search, it is corrected, it is a fake.
The best way to avoid a scam site is to enter the URL completely manually in the address bar of the browser or to use a bookmark.
There are also web browser extensions that you can download to prevent phishing/scams specifically designed for "crypto enthusiasts" like the
Cryptonight Extension for Chrome.
So please be alert and check everything you do twice or three times. If you want to go one step further, you can also use a
sandbox if you want to surf on new, unknown sites. This does not protect you in the mentioned PunyCode case, but there are many more potential risks that you may face on a daily basis.
Be safe.