Discord Scamming: New Techniques and Safety Updates

TLDR; Discord's new features make scamming both harder and easier, with subtext markdown used for scams and a new anti-scamming feature in development.

⚠️ New Discord Scamming Technique

Discord users are being targeted by a new scam involving a fake message promising $100,000 for Nitro.

The scam uses gray text and the dismiss message, imitating a legitimate Discord feature.

The scam involves manipulating Discord's markdown feature to create a fake message that appears similar to a normal dismiss message.

Despite the potential danger, the scam isn't considered extremely dangerous, but it's still important to be cautious and avoid falling for such tactics.

🔒 New Safety Update

Discord has implemented a safety update to notify users when a Discord bot adds them to a server.

Users can now revoke authorization for the bot to join random servers, addressing a previous issue with unauthorized server joins.

While the update is a significant improvement, it still has a flaw related to bad Discord servers abusing the join servers for you permission.

However, the update is a step in the right direction for enhancing user safety on Discord.

🛠️ Flaw in Safety Update

The safety update has a flaw, as demonstrated by a scenario where a user was added to a server with inappropriate content.

This flaw highlights the ongoing challenge of preventing unauthorized server joins and the potential risks associated with it.

Despite the flaw, the update is a positive step forward in addressing safety concerns on Discord, although there are still improvements to be made.

👥 Band-Aid Solution

The safety update is considered a Band-Aid solution by some, but it still has significant value in preventing users from being scammed.

Even if a small percentage of users benefit from it, the impact is substantial given Discord's large user base of 200 million monthly active users.

The update utilizes Discord's official notification system, providing a straightforward way to identify and address potential security issues.

Despite its imperfections, the update is a welcome addition to Discord's safety features.

🚫 Bonus Anti-Scamming Feature

Discord is working on a new anti-scamming feature to address the issue of users being tricked into changing their email addresses, potentially leading to account theft or extortion attempts.

The feature involves a pop-up menu that prompts users to select a reason for changing their email, with options to indicate if a Discord employee or someone else requested the change.

This proactive approach aims to prevent users from falling victim to such scams, providing an additional layer of protection.