Cryptocurrency Phishing attacks surge by 40% | Cryptocurrency cybercrimes | Crypto vulnerabilities

According to Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, Phishing attacks were raised by 40% in 2022.

It is not just the common people and investors showing interest in the Crypto market, scammers are also intrigued by cryptocurrencies. They are also evolving along with the Crypto Industry. New and advanced techniques were implemented to steal users’ crypto data and currencies easily.

The crypto scams rose to 40% year-on-year growth with a surge of 5,040,520 detections of crypto phishing in 2022 compared to 3,596,437 in 2021. As per Kaspersky, every 7th user surveyed was affected by crypto phishing.

Crypto crimes include traditional ways like giveaway scams, fake wallet phishing pages, and rewards schemes. Kaspersky discovered that scammers are choosing new innovative techniques and approaches to steal cryptos easily.

Bitcoin- Mining Scam:

This is the latest technique used by scammers to lure cryptocurrencies. The scammers first will send an email to the people with an attached PDF stating that “your Bitcoin cloud mining account has been inactive for one year with a total Bitcoins of 0.7495 BTC accumulated in the account”. Activate the account within 24 hours or else the account will get blocked permanently.

The pdf includes a link and when the users click on the link, they are directed to the so-called well-designed Bitcoin mining website with a welcome back note along with the IP address. They create an urgency to take an action by mentioning the time in big fonts with hours, minutes, and seconds ticking.

The website also provides other sections like monthly history, setting for changing passwords, subscriptions, auto-withdrawal, and send money options. When the user clicks on the payout option, a form appears to be filled including the user's personal data like the card number. The site provides an option to convert Bitcoin into USD by paying a minimal commission of 0.25% ($64) which needs to be paid in cryptocurrency.

The user is then taken to a payment page including personal details and when the victim clicks on the pay button, a wallet address is provided to send the fee amount along with a barcode scanning option to send the fee.

The moment the victim clicks on the payment link, all the personnel details have been stolen by the attackers within no time. Before you know you have been hacked, your details will be available for sale on the dark web or your money has been stolen.

The Cryptocurrency Industry is not only a volatile market but also a phishing-prone Industry. Investors need to be more vigilant and should take the necessary steps to not be vulnerable to these traps.

Some of the types of Crypto scams include:

1. Social Media scams
Fake browser Extensions
DNS hijacking
Phishing Bots
Spear Phishing- attacking specific individuals using messages like fake emails.
Whaling attack- targets high-profile individuals.
Crypto malware attack

Precautions to be taken to avoid Crypto Phishing attacks:

1. Don’t click on malicious links or websites.

2. Be attentive while clicking on links providing you with discounts, offers, or gifts.

3. Check if the connection is secure and the certificate is valid through the Chrome web address field.

4. You can bookmark frequently visiting sites to avoid clicking on fake pages.

5. Don’t store your credit card information on any websites.

6. Never share your private key details with anyone. Better store it in a hardware wallet.

7. Investors need to be cautious and do proper research about the company’s project like Whitepaper, their team, social media channels, official website, token allocation, etc.

8. Stay away from unrealistic offers and promises.

9. Protect your wallet with two-factor authentication.
10. Keep a note of fake ICOs, Fake Airdrops, and NFTs.

11. Protect your devices and computer with antivirus software and keep your system up-to-date.
12. Connect to secure networks only.

13. Create a strong password and never share your recovery seed phrase with anyone.

14. Before adding any browser extensions through the web store, check their profile page and their developer team, and have time to view the customer review. Always download from the official website.

15. Do Not enter your credentials through email. Legitimate services do not ask for your login credentials.

16. Be aware of the latest crypto threats, updates, and best practices in the crypto industry.

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