In the midst of the cryptocurrency hype, cyber-criminals are using Amazon’s name to promote a fraudulent scheme called ‘Amazon to create its own digital token,’ leading victims to give away their credentials in the first phase of the fraud campaign, according to cyber-security researchers.
According to Akamai researchers, they were able to track continuous cyberattack campaigns that took advantage of the crypto fever, including fraudsters who introduced a variety of phishing schemes based on false rumours, such as “Amazon to create its own digital token.”
“This particular scam played directly into victims’ fear of missing out on a limited-time offer to invest in a new (albeit fake) cryptocurrency ‘opportunity’,” they said.
A closer look at the victims who visited the fake token landing pages revealed that 98% of them were mobile users, with 56% using Android and 42% using iPhone devices.
“Looking into the geographic breakdown for campaign victims shows that 29 per cent were located within North America, 35 per cent in South America, and 27 per cent in Asia,” the report said.
Akamai informed Amazon of its findings.
After engaging the targets, victims were directed to a well-designed and functional fake website, where they paid for the bogus cryptocurrency.
The scam required the victims to pay for the bogus tokens with cryptocurrency, in this case, Bitcoin.
The scam’s ultimate goal was to trick victims into thinking the fake cryptocurrency was real and paying for it with their own cryptocurrency (bitcoin).
“To drive victim engagement and trust, attackers created a fully functional website that required registration, account confirmation using email, and a user account profile,” said the researchers.
Furthermore, the website used social engineering techniques such as displaying a fake progress bar indicating that tokens were about to sell out, putting pressure on the victim’s purchasing decision.
According to Chainalysis, fraudsters will receive approximately $14 billion in deposits in 2021.
