Investing in crypto: beware of traps set by cybercriminals, warn the experts

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Glad to read cryptocurrency news. I would like to invest a little in it. Advise me on what to do next, posted a senior company executive on his LinkedIn wall, triggering a flurry of suggestions from his followers.

With cryptos gaining traction, there has been huge interest among part of the middle class frantically searching Google or checking with computer crowds to figure out this new investment tool to make a small investment to test the waters.

Cybercriminals are quick enough to take advantage of the frenzy. In Hyderabad, a business executive was tricked into opening a crypto account at a fake crypto firm. By showing an exaggerated increase in his investments, they made him invest more than 60 lakh. By the time he found out he was duped, it was too late. He ended up filing a complaint with the police.

Fake advertisements

Cyber ​​security experts have warned the public not to fall prey to such bogus invitations or fall for a plethora of advertisements, including some with fake celebrity endorsements.

Oded Vanunu, head of product vulnerability research, Check Point Software Technologies, urged potential investors to be careful and recheck URLs before clicking on them. You should never give your password to others, he said.

You should skip the ads. If you are looking for crypto wallets or trading and exchange platforms in the crypto space, always look at the first website of your search and not in the ad as they might mislead you. he declares.

Check Point Research has warned that crooks are using Google Ads to steal crypto wallets. Scammers place ads at the top of Google search that mimic popular wallet brands, such as Phantom and MetaMask, to trick users into giving up their wallet passphrase and private key.

He estimated that more than $ 500,000 worth of crypto was stolen in a few days recently.

Sanjay Katkar, deputy managing director and chief technology officer of Quick Heal Technologies, said the cryptocurrency bull run and the windfall gains for those who invested early in cryptocurrencies have attracted the interest of many.

Taking advantage of this situation, the crooks are targeting new victims by offering attractive bogus offers on social media, he said.

Scammers use celebrity photos and videos to trick potential users into believing the celebrities approve of the scheme.

There had also been incidents where the social media handles of some celebrities were hijacked and used to promote fake cryptocurrency schemes, he said. You have to be very careful when clicking on advertisements on social networks. Look carefully at the name of the website, YouTube channel, or Twitter account. The fake accounts will have small differences like a misspelling or the use of fonts that make the fake account look genuine, he said.

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