The team behind the interoperable blockchain project Polkadot () says they are working to make its ecosystem safer for users through an anti-scam initiative.
DOT developer the Web3 Foundation says it initially teamed up with security firms to deter the proliferation of scams, but the initiative eventually evolved to engage community members who take part in fighting scams.
“That made the way forward clear: we would gather these security-minded individuals and reward them in a consistent manner for protecting the community. In other words, the community would protect itself.”
The Anti-Scam Bounty incentivizes the community for tasks such as detecting and taking down scam sites, fake social media profiles and phishing apps; creating educational material for users and protecting the project’s Discord servers from raids.
To date, the bounty has given 16,000 DOT in rewards, which translates to $84,640 at the altcoin’s current price of $5.29.
Polkadot says the initiative proves to be effective in safeguarding the ecosystem and it now relies solely on the community to find and respond to scam sites. It still works with online brand protection company Allure Security, though, to take care of deceptive social media accounts and rogue apps.
“In the future, the goal is to entrust all aspects of online scam protection exclusively to the community. And any company in the field that wishes to join the bounty and contribute with their expertise is welcome.”
