Crypto scammers pose as journalists, NFT projects on Twitter: Report

Internet scammers are using hijacked accounts on Twitter Inc. to promote dubious cryptocurrency platforms that, once installed, enable them to compromise victims’ sensitive data, according to new findings provided exclusively to Bloomberg News.

Since March, fraudsters have impersonated journalists, crypto apps and a variety of nonfungible token (NFT) projects on Twitter in order to steal users' virtual currency, usernames and password credentials, the report said citing research from Satnam Narang, a staff research engineer at the cybersecurity firm Tenable Inc., the report said

As part of the alleged scam, thieves have masqueraded as members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a popular collection of NFTs, as well as the Azuki collection, the MoonBirds project and the Okay Bears NFT community, which has more than 150,000 Twitter followers, Narang found, Bloomberg News said.

In one instance, scammers posed as a legal affairs reporter from the Age, an Australia-based news service, asking users to visit a suspicious link in order to claim a small amount of the virtual currency Ethereum, according to the research, the report said.

Intruders also appear to have temporarily taken over the Twitter page of a freelance journalist who covers the gaming industry and created profiles that appear similar to real ones, according to the findings.

Losses incurred from the scams are difficult to quantify, however the activity is the latest example of attackers leveraging cryptocurrency -- and the hype surrounding popular projects -- to generate funds, the report said.

As recent as February 2022, four people have been arrested from Pune for allegedly duping 2,000 investors to the tune of Rs 40 crore in a cryptocurrency fraud. .Nishid Wasnik, his wife Pragati, Gajanan Mungune and Sandesh Lanjewar were arrested after being on the run for over a year, an official said to PTI.

(With inputs from Bloomberg News)

Published on: Friday, May 27, 2022, 11:04 AM IST