In today’s article we will be looking at ‘Flash’.
NO, not the range of products providing you with effortless home cleaning; NOT the 1934 character battling the merciless Emperor Ming and NOT the anthemic theme song written and performed by Queen! On the contrary, we will be looking at Flash USDT, a ‘coin’ that can lead to scams and large value losses.
At this point, and perhaps somewhat confusingly, it is important to state that there is a completely legitimate and well utilized coin known as Flashcoin (FLASH) which operates on its own dedicated blockchain and is a decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency specifically designed for fast and low cost, large-scale digital transactions.
But back to the more nefarious side of life.
So what exactly is Flash USDT?
Well, there are actually two answers to this question. Firstly, lets look at the ‘urban legend’ answer.
In the general urban legend consensus, flash USDT is a crypto coin with which the unsuspecting are conned during large value transactions. The scenario goes, that this flash USDT is some sort of ‘fake’ coin that is passed on to an unsuspecting victim and then, after a time, ‘disappears’. So typically, it is imagined that either a buyer wishes to purchase a large sum of USDT, or a seller wishes to sell something of high value for USDT. In both scenarios, once the transaction is completed, the victim is left holding fake USDT which either ‘vanishes’ immediately, or ‘vanishes’ after a period of time.
Actually, elements of this are almost correct, but the facts are much subtler. To gain an insight into how this all truly works, we must first understand that ‘flash USDT’ does not refer to any actual or legitimate feature of Tether (USDT) itself or either the Ethereum (ERC 20) or the Tron (TRC 20) blockchains, or in fact, of any blockchain. Instead, it is usually an illusory feature of deceptive wallets, deceptive tools and deceptive apps, with no ‘real world’ existence.
Delving deeper, let us consider how real USDT transactions function.
As mentioned, USDT is a stable coin operating on the Ethereum and Tron blockchains. At its most basic, when someone initiates a USDT transaction, that transaction is broadcast to the blockchain, verified by validators and then recorded permanently onto the blockchain. Once the transaction has been confirmed, that’s it…it is written in stone…forever. It cannot be altered, reversed or ‘disappeared’ in any way. This complete transparency, immutability and permanence underscores the entire basis of the blockchain concept.
But of course, this wouldn’t be a Mega Crypto Casino article, if we didn’t at this point diverge slightly into mega geekdom and elucidate just a little further, the nature of these blockchain validators. Primarily, because it is important to understand this in order to gain a deeper appreciation of how blockchain transactions are validated, secondarily, because it is useful to understand how different blockchains accomplish this validation and finally, because our regular readers will already be familiar with the concept of blockchain Nodes and it will be helpful to differentiate their place and relationship to blockchain validation. So let’s get to it!
Nodes, Validators and the Tron Blockchain
So in regards to the Tron blockchain; whilst all validators are nodes, not all nodes are validators; this blockchain relies on a specific and specialized type of node known as a ‘Super Representative’ (SR) or also a ‘Witness Node ‘for ultimate validation.
The actual mechanics of this is that the Tron blockchain runs on a ‘Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) system which utilizes three distinct types of nodes.
- Super Representatives (Witness Nodes); these consist of 27 elected validators who ultimately verify transactions and are elected every 6 hours by TRX holders. They produce new blocks every three seconds and receive 32 TRX for each block produced.
- Full Nodes; these nodes do not produce blocks, however, they do maintain a complete copy of the blockchain, broadcast transactions and also provide API services.
- Solidity Nodes; these nodes perform the specific function of syncing and solidifying block data from the Full Nodes, providing historical data and providing API access.
Nodes, Validators and the Ethereum Blockchain
As might be expected, the Ethereum blockchain works in a slightly different manner which utilizes a Proof of Stake methodology and similarly to the Tron blockchain, whilst all validators are nodes, not all nodes are validators; validators are, in fact, special, active nodes responsible for proposing new blocks and attesting to (validating) others.
- Nodes; any computer running the Ethereum software can be deemed to be a ‘node’. They maintain the network by storing a copy of the blockchain and by verifying transactions.
- Full Nodes (Non Validatory); these nodes, slightly differently to the above, can simply watch the blockchain, store full transaction histories and verify transactions without having to stake ETH or being involved in block creation.
- Validator Nodes; The key difference between a Validator node and the other nodes mentioned above is that a Validator node has the extra responsibility of staking ETH and managing block production. These nodes run a specific software (specifically; validator client, beacon node, and execution client) which then enables them to stake the required 32 ETH (the threshold amount of ETH required to become a validator), to take part in consensus an to earn rewards. Validator nodes are also, importantly, authorized to propose, and sign off on new blocks in the Ethereum blockchain.
Nodes and Miners on the Bitcoin Blockchain
So hold on! The most alert readers (and I’ve no doubt that this is actually all of our readers), will, no doubt, be asking “how exactly did Bitcoin suddenly segway into the topic of flash USDT coins?”
Well, at this point it will be sufficient to explain that there are also ‘Flash Bitcoins’ in existence; but the principal is exactly the same and so an explanation of how Bitcoin blockchain transactions work will make for a complete and all-encompassing explanation of the subject matter.
On the decentralized Bitcoin network, nodes essentially act as the policemen of the ecosystem, ensuring that only completely valid transactions and blocks are ever added to the blockchain. There are two discrete types of nodes;
- Lightweight (SPV) Nodes; these nodes do not actually download a complete copy of the blockchain and do not validate transactions themselves; instead, they rely on ‘Full Nodes’ to validate transactions for them.
- Full Nodes; these nodes, by contrast, do download a complete copy of the blockchain and thereby validate every transaction and block according to the blockchain rules and consensus. They do this by checking that each transaction is signed off correctly by the owner of the private key; by the prevention of ‘double spending’ i.e. ensuring that the same Bitcoin is never spent twice; by verifying that the ‘spender’ has sufficient funds to actually spend and by checking the ‘transaction format’ to ensure that the transaction follows the stipulated rules.
- Miners; at this point it is important to differentiate the role of miners within the grand scheme of things. Obviously, miners mine Bitcoin, but the other role they play is thus: Once a node has validated a transaction, it is added to their mempool and also relay it to other nodes. A mempool (memory pool) is basically a "holding area" for unconfirmed transactions on a blockchain – these validated transactions are then taken from the node’s mempool by the miners and via ‘proof-of-work’ (complex mathematical puzzles) confirmed as valid – even after this confirmation, the full nodes will again check the miner’s block for any erroneous or invalid transactions and only then will the transaction be finalized.
So, having now run through this mini-marathon of understanding how real blockchain transactions are validated, let us now return to the world of flash USDT and how that works.
As previously mentioned, flash USDT is not an actual ‘coin’, as such, and has no real existence on any blockchain; and from our deep-dive we can see exactly why it does not exist and why it can never actually exist. So how do people get duped?
Well essentially, because there are no actual ‘coins’ to transfer via the blockchain to a recipient’s wallet, scammers have to rely on pure trickery or illusion.
Common Crypto Scammer Methodologies
Firstly, some scammers simply come up with completely fake wallet interfaces or fake apps. The victim may be shown a wallet or interface that convincingly shows a USDT balance, but these are actually stand-alone apps which are not actually connected to the blockchain at all. They show whatever balance is programmed into them, a little like anyone can produce a fake PDF bank statement and simply type any transaction or balance they wish into the PDF. This scam is, of course, just a visual trick and the funds can disappear at any time, because they never actually existed at all.
Another way that victims are sometimes fooled is via ‘unconfirmed’ or ‘pending’ transactions. Some transactions can appear in some wallets as ‘pending’ or ‘unconfirmed’ and if a wallet is not properly funded, signed off, or subsequently validated by the network, these transactions will not subsequently be confirmed and will fall off.
Yet another trick is the promotion to a victim of ‘Flash USDT’ generating software or tools. Victims are told that they can generate large amounts of ‘temporary USDT’ that can, nonetheless, be used for purchases, trading and even withdrawals. Of course, they can’t, but the victim has often parted with their money by the time they discover this.
The practical modus operandi can vary but essentially always ends up with the victim parting with something of real worth and receiving nothing in return. Some real life examples include:
- Some 340 members of an online group paid scammers between $50,000 - $55,000 each resulting in a collective loss of over $17 million. They were given fake demonstrations of ‘Flash’ USDT generators backed up with corroborative testimonials from fake users; the scammers exited after members’ final payments had been made.
- Hoping to get preferential rates or hoping to avoid the crypto reporting criteria of some crypto exchanges, victims part with genuine BTC/ETH hoping to exchange for USDT. The scammer shows a fake wallet balance, proports to send USDT (fake or unconfirmed), the victim releases ESCROW, and the funds and scammer vanishes. One example was cited to have lost 20,000 BTC loss in a single trade!
To date, no firm figures exist for the levels of this type of ‘flash’ scam; estimates vary significantly because victims are, naturally embarrassed and so may not report the crime, there are often jurisdictional constraints, transactions are generally irreversible and these scams often operate across various online groups such as WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram and diverse P2P exchanges.
Hopefully, with the knowledge gained herein, you, dear readers, will be now be wise to these scams and also as to the technicalities as to how they operate.
In all cases, if you are interacting with a third-party wallet in a transaction, always run the wallet address through a public blockchain explorer…and if it doesn’t appear there…it doesn’t exist.
Similarly, the same basic advice applies here as applies to all scams; never be rushed, bullied or coerced into a transaction and above all; if a deal sounds too good to be true…it absolutely IS too good to be true!
Well that’s it dear readers. We hope that you found this latest article interesting and educational, and we sincerely hope that you will return again to Mega Crypto Casino for our next article on the subject of Crypto Casinos, Cryptocurrencies and everything related.