Cybersecurity firm OX Security reported the scam on Wednesday, confirming that it found no vicitms so far. OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger separately warned on X that any emails claiming association with the project are scams, urging users to only visit the official site. “We would never do that. The project is open source and non-commercial,” Steinberger said.
According to OX Security, the phishing campaign involved attackers creating fake GitHub accounts that posted messages in attacker-controlled repositories, tagging developers to increase visibility. The posts claimed that recipients had won $5,000 worth of “CLAW,” a non-existent cryptocurrency falsely associated with the project, in an attempt to trick recipients into visiting a cloned website.
The campaign directed users to a cloned website resembling OpenClaw’s official page and prompted them to connect crypto wallets, a common phishing tactic used to steal credentials or secure malicious approvals.
Social media reports indicate that developers were aware of the fraud, with many labeling the campaign as a scam immediately.
OpenClaw creator warned users the project would never launch a token
The attack comes months after the OpenClaw creator warned users that the project would never launch a cryptocurrency, and that any token claiming association with him was fraudulent.
“I will never do a coin. Any project that lists me as coin owner is a scam,” Steinberger said in an X post in January.
The phishing campaign marks another attempt by attackers to capitalize on OpenClaw’s viral popularity.
Launched in November 2025, OpenClaw offers a free, open-source autonomous AI agent that runs locally on computers to manage files, software and browser tasks via chat platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram.
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The platform received high GitHub engagement and active social communities, amassing more than 465,000 subscribers on X in the months following its launch.
In a move to fight scams, the OpenClaw project also confirmed a ban on Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto discussions in its official Discord channel in February.
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