back Back

Kaspersky detects over 1,500 fraudulent resources targeting Crypto users

By Edlyn Cardoza

September 07, 2021

Share

Kaspersky, Africa, Cybersecurity, Cryptocurrency, BlockchainSince the beginning of 2021, Kaspersky has detected more than 1,500 fraudulent global resources aimed at potential crypto investors or users who are interested in cryptocurrency mining. During this period, the company also prevented more than 70,000 user attempts globally, to visit such sites.

Globally, cryptocurrency mining malware wreaked havoc in 2018, infecting more than five million people in the first three quarters of that year. And Kaspersky’s research shows that in some African countries, the threat of malicious crypto miners, remains prevalent. Currently in South Africa, the share of all users targeted by malicious crypto miners in H1 2021 was 0.60%. In Kenya, the share of all users targeted was 0.85% and in Nigeria, 0.71%.

“Although these percentages may be interpreted as low and may not seem significant to users, crypto-miner malware has been identified as one of the top 3 malware families rife in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria at present, which we believe emphasises that as cryptocurrency continues to gain momentum, more users will likely be targeted,” says Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa.

In certain African countries, the share of all users targeted by malicious crypto miners is much higher: Ethiopia shows a share of 3.68% and Rwanda a share of 3.22%.

When looking at the fraudulent global resources detected by Kaspersky, typically, cybercriminals locate sites in popular domain zones: .com, .net, .org, .info, as well as in zones where domain acquisition is cheap: .site, .xyz, .online, .top, .club, .live. A distinctive feature of phishing and other types of cryptocurrency fraud is the high level of detail on phishing websites. For example, on fake crypto exchanges, real data, such as bitcoin rates, is often loaded from existing exchanges. Attackers understand that people who are investing or are interested in this area are often more tech-savvy than the average user. Therefore, the cybercrooks make their techniques more complex in order to get data and money from these people.

Alexey Marchenko, head of the Content Filtering Methods Development department at Kaspersky, said, “Lately, many have become interested in cryptocurrencies, and attackers would not pass up the opportunity to use this to their advantage. At the same time, both those who want to invest or mine cryptocurrency and simply the holders of such funds can find themselves on the fraudsters’ radar. For example, one of the schemes we recently discovered went as follows: users received a message about the sale of an exclusive Coronavirus vaccine earlier than official schedules and only for those who have Bitcoins. This type of fraud was especially prevalent when the vaccines just became available. The user went to the site where the contact indicated, to which it was necessary to write to pre-order the vaccine. The target then needed to make an advance payment in Bitcoins, with the money going to the cybercriminals’ account and the person receiving nothing in return.”

Previous Article

September 06, 2021

Spectrum Markets introduces Turbo Certificates on selected Equities

Read More
Next Article

September 07, 2021

UCO Bank partners with Fisdom to launch Wealth Management solutions

Read More






IBSi FinTech Journal

  • Most trusted FinTech journal since 1991
  • Digital monthly issue
  • 60+ pages of research, analysis, interviews, opinions, and rankings
  • Global coverage
Subscribe Now

Other Related News

Today

FOURSOURCE taps Mangopay to enhance textile marketplace experience

Read More

Today

Core Banking Crisis: 55% of Banks cite Legacy Systems as top barrier to transformation

Read More

Today

JCB expands Google Pay acceptance in Japan for Android users

Read More

Related Reports

Sales League Table Report 2024
Know More
Global Digital Banking Vendor & Landscape Report Q3 2024
Know More
NextGen WealthTech: The Trends To Shape The Future Q4 2023
Know More
IBSi Spectrum Report: Supply Chain Finance Platforms Q4 2023
Know More
Treasury & Capital Markets Systems Report Q1 2024
Know More