Group-IB, a Singaporean cybersecurity firm, found that fake domains have been used in a lot of cryptocurrency scams during the first half 2022. These domains have increased fivefold and many of them, even though they are registered with Russian registrars. They are intended to reach English- and Spanish-speaking crypto investors.
Crypto Scams Domains Grow Immensely in H1-2022
In the first half 2022, the number of domains used for cryptocurrency scams has increased by fivefold. Group-IB, an online security company based in Singapore, reported that the number of domains used to welcome Youtube scammers has increased fivefold over the past half-year. These domains have been registered more than 2,000 times.
Most of these cryptocurrency scam sites use the names of famous cryptocurrency-linked personalities to attract their victims. Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, is one of these people. He is also the famous soccer player Cristiano Rojo, as well as other cryptocurrency supporters such Elon Musk and Michael Saylor.
These domains, which account for more than 60% of all domains, are registered by Russian companies. However they are directed at Spanish and English-speaking communities of cryptocurrency investors who are their primary targets.
Youtube Fake Crypto Stream Market
This scam has grown due to the existence an underground market that sells all the software needed to create a fake Youtube-hosted cryptocurrency stream. These streams reach between 10,000 and 20,000 viewers on average, with many of them being attracted by keywords like ETH, Ark Shiba, XRP, and Shiba. Group-IB provided this information:
Scammers have the following available to them: An exchange platform for hacked Youtube channels, viewer boosting service, manuals and website editors, developers of admin panels, domain names, bulletproof web hosting, and tools and people that can make deepfake video.
Deepfakes are a powerful tool for hackers. They have been able to create live holograms from exchange employees to fool token teams representatives and get a fee to list.
These services can also be used to create these websites and to draw people in to these frauds. Users are advised to be cautious about promoting crypto giveaways that seem too good to be true and verify that they are legitimate.
What are your thoughts on the recent explosion of domains that promote cryptocurrency scams. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
By: Sergio Goschenko
Title: Number of Youtube Crypto Stream Scams and Fake Domains Explodes in H1 2022
Sourced From: news.bitcoin.com/number-of-youtube-crypto-stream-scams-and-fake-domains-explodes-in-h1-2022/
Published Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2022 06:00:19 +0000
