iPhone and Android users are falling victim to new, and even more extortionate, tactics from those carrying out romance scams and crypto-frauds.
See also: Romance scams: Man jailed for trying to scam 670 people
Romance scams are nothing new, but their potential impact has expanded due to mobile technology and the connectivity of our smartphones with basic financial services, banking, and investment opportunities.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says 2021 was a “gold mine” for scammers, with $770 million lost to social media scams alone during the year. Investment, cryptocurrency and romance scams were the most common types of scams.
In 2021, Sophos uncovered “CryptoRom,” an international crime ring that runs romance scams across Asia, the US, and Europe. At the time, Sophos said CryptoRom primarily targeted Bumble and Tinder, luring them to download fake cryptocurrency trading apps by abusing Apple’s Enterprise Signature platform.
See also: FTC: Americans lost $547 million to romance scams in 2021
Researchers have now provided an update on the scammers' activities. On Wednesday, ESET said that victims have contacted the company, providing their own stories and allowing the team to gather more information about the threats.
It now appears that CryptoRom scammers are also luring victims through WhatsApp messages, offering them investment opportunities and trading advice – and, of course, promising “huge” financial returns.
Victims are then redirected to fraudulent websites and third-party app repositories, where they are tricked into downloading and installing fake cryptocurrency and trading apps. However, this is a change in tactics.
Typically, scammers trick their targets into either submitting sensitive financial information to an app or purchasing cryptocurrencies through other services that end up in the attackers' wallets.
In this case, however, the CryptoRom scammers will allow victims to initially withdraw their initial deposits from the fake apps – designed to mimic popular, legitimate services – after a “win” in the market.
This may seem counterproductive, but the scam creator will encourage their target to invest even more, as it appears that the investment "opportunity" has already resulted in a profit.
See also: Crypto dating scams: A combination of romance and crypto scams targeting dating app users
Keep in mind that the scammer is masquerading as a friend or fling. Having established a personal connection and a seemingly real investment opportunity, the scammers will try to squeeze more cash out of their victim.
When the “profit” appears and the user tries to make a withdrawal, the attackers strike. The profits have been artificially created to any amount they desire – and now, after the victim has paid, the scammer demands a 20% “tax” on the imaginary amount via the app’s “customer service” team.
One person contacted ESET and said that all of his retirement and loan money was “frozen” in the app, with over a million dollars in possession. The scammers demanded a “tax” payment of $625,000.
This type of double-dipping seems to be a successful tactic in love and investment scams.
Information source: zdnet.com
