Hey there,
We’ve been made aware of a website called SpicyTigerSub (spicytigersub[.]com) that claims to be a product-marketing platform connected to Spicy Tiger. It is not. We have no connection to it, and we did not create it or authorise it.
We’re publishing this to warn our clients, partners and the wider community, and to help anyone who has already been caught out.
What’s happening
The site invites people to join a “product-marketing” program in which they complete product orders and earn commissions. Participants are then told they must deposit cryptocurrency to complete certain orders before their earnings can be withdrawn.
To look legitimate, the site displays a business registration document for “SPICY TIGER” dated 9 December 2023. We did not authorise the use of this document or our name, and the site’s operators have no relationship with our business. A registration document on a website does not prove that the site is run by the registered business. Anyone can copy a document or a company name.
This is a well-known type of fraud, often called a task scam or commission scam. It usually works like this:
- You’re offered easy online work that pays commission.
- Early tasks may appear to work, and you may even see a balance building up.
- You’re asked to deposit money (often crypto) to “unlock” the next task or to withdraw your earnings.
- The deposits get larger, the withdrawals never come, and the money is gone.
We do not run any product-marketing, task-based or commission program, and we have never asked anyone to fund orders or deposit cryptocurrency to work with us or receive earnings.
How to tell if it’s really us
Our official websites
Our official social channels
- Instagram: @spicytiger.agency
- LinkedIn: Spicy Tiger
- TikTok: @spicytiger.agency
- YouTube: @spicytiger.agency
Our official email addresses end in one of the following:
- @spicytiger.agency
- @spicytiger.com.au
- @manacreative.com.au (this is our old company name and is used as an alias)
If a website, profile or email claiming to be us isn’t on this list, it isn’t us. That includes free email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) and lookalike addresses with small changes in spelling.
We will never:
- Ask you to deposit cryptocurrency, send gift cards or transfer money to a personal account in order to work with us or access earnings
- Offer commission for completing online orders or tasks
- Ask for your passwords or one-time verification codes
- Pressure you to act or pay urgently
Warning signs of a scam like this
- You were contacted unexpectedly about easy, high-paying online work
- You must pay in before you can get paid out
- Payments are requested in cryptocurrency or by other hard-to-reverse methods
- Withdrawals are delayed, blocked, or require “fees”, “taxes” or a bigger deposit
- A professional-looking dashboard and official-looking documents are used to build trust
- You’re encouraged to recruit friends or to keep going to “recover” what you’ve already put in
If you think you’ve been targeted
1. Stop paying. Don’t send any more money, however convincing the reason. Requests for extra deposits to “release” your funds are part of the scam.
2. Contact your bank, card provider, or crypto exchange immediately. If you paid by bank transfer or card, call your bank straight away, as they may be able to act if you move quickly. Crypto transfers are generally irreversible, but contact the exchange or wallet provider you used right away. They may be able to flag the receiving address or help with your report.
3. Secure your accounts. If you shared passwords, ID documents or wallet details, change your passwords (and anywhere you reuse them), turn on multi-factor authentication, and consider moving any remaining crypto to a new wallet.
4. Keep the evidence. Screenshot the website, your account balance, order history and chat messages. Save wallet addresses, transaction IDs, emails, and the name or number of whoever contacted you.
5. Report it. Reports help authorities track scammers and warn others.
In Australia
- Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre / ACCC): scamwatch.gov.au
- ReportCyber (Australian Cyber Security Centre): cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report
- ASIC: report misconduct, including misuse of a company registration, at asic.gov.au
- IDCARE: free support if your personal information has been compromised, at idcare.org
In New Zealand
- Netsafe: netsafe.org.nz
- NZ Police: police.govt.nz/use-105 or call 105 (111 in an emergency)
- National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC): ncsc.govt.nz
Elsewhere: report to your country’s consumer protection or cybercrime agency. If you’re in the US, that’s the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov.
6. Be wary of “recovery” offers. Scam victims are often contacted afterwards by people claiming they can recover lost funds for a fee. These are usually follow-up scams. Only deal with your bank, the police and official agencies.
What we’re doing about it
We’re reporting the site to its hosting provider and domain registrar, submitting it to Google Safe Browsing and other blocklist services, reporting the matter to Scamwatch, ReportCyber and ASIC. We’ll update this post as we learn more.
We’re sorry this is happening, and our thoughts are with anyone who has lost money.
The Spicy Tiger Team
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