Considering the growth of digital assets and their anonymous nature, crypto scammers have ramped up their efforts to loot crypto users by using new methods nearly every day. In the latest scam, cybercriminals have combined crypto influencers’ fake X accounts, telegram groups and malicious telegram bots to deceive investors.
According to the crypto anti-scam solution Scam Sniffer, which first detected the scam and issued an alert, fraudsters first invite users into telegram chat groups via influencers’ fake accounts by promising fruitful investments. Then, they inject crypto-stealing malware through phoney telegram bots that raid users’ crypto wallets.
Following users join the group chat, then users are asked to verify their identity via the malicious Telegram chatbot titled “OfficiaISafeguardBot”. It creates a sense of emergency to trick users, and verification windows pop up in no time. Ultimately, the bot then runs a PowerShell code into the victim’s computer that compromises the system and crypto wallets connected with it.
While speaking on the latest scam tragedy it discovered, Scam Sniffer noted in a statement;
This is the first time we’re seeing this specific combination of fake X accounts, fake Telegram channels, and malicious Telegram bots,
Crypto scams on the rise in 2024
The firm revealed that 2 victims have lost nearly $3 million via this scam by allowing scammers to inject malware. Notably, it is not the very first case of its type. Scam Sniffer has reported many cases that steal private keys using malware.
Notably, the security firm uncovered a rapid surge in fake X accounts that publicly promote malware links and shit tokens. As per the data evaluated by Scam Sniffer, nearly 300 X accounts created in a day so far this month. Meanwhile, the daily average number of fake accounts created in November stood at 160.
This increasing number of impersonated social media accounts coincides with the broader scam activities targeting web3 users. Another security firm, Cyvere, also addressed the rising phishing attacks in December. It signifies more vulnerability and risk for users as transactions are increased around the holiday season.
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