The number of sites promoting cryptocurrency giveaway scams to lure unsuspecting victims increased by more than 300% in the first half of the current year, primarily targeting English‑speakers and Spanish‑speakers who use celebrity deepfakes.
Security researchers at the cyber‑security firm Group‑IB have identified more than 2,000 domains that were registered in 2022 specifically for this purpose.
A report published today notes that the number of fake giveaways involving cryptocurrency has increased fivefold compared to the same period last year.
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Each of these sites has an average reach of 15,000 viewers. If this data is accurate, the scammers have targeted approximately 30 million people. The use of top-level domains (TLDs) that are considered more trustworthy (.COM, .NET, and .ORG) also contributed to this success.
Group-IB says scammers are abusing multiple video platforms to promote fake giveaways on live streams featuring deepfakes of Elon Musk, Garlinghouse, Michael J. Saylor, and Cathie Wood. YouTube is at the top of the list, followed by Twitch.
The advertising streams come from accounts that have been hijacked by underground hackers who receive between 10% and 50% of the profits, depending on the size of the channel.
The more subscribers a channel has, the harder it is to block the stream, as it would require a larger number of reports to trigger YouTube's monitoring system.
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Additionally, scammers have created campaigns using the image of El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, who declared Bitcoin legal tender in the country, or soccer player Cristiano Rolando who this summer signed an exclusive partnership with Binance.
This shows that scammers adapt quickly to new developments in the field and exploit the current framework to promote realistic scams.
Scams are easier to set up
Group-IB explains that the primary reason behind the sudden increase in cryptocurrency scams this year is the significant increase in the wider availability of tools that help create them.
“The astonishing growth of fake cryptocurrency giveaways can be explained by the significantly enhanced arsenal and availability of tools for crypto scammers, even with low technical skills,” explains the cyber intelligence firm.
«Η Group-IB αποκάλυψε ότι τα φόρουμ που χρησιμοποιούνται από απατεώνες συνθέτουν μια ολοκληρωμένη αγορά που μπορεί να βοηθήσει ακόμη και απατεώνες που δεν γνωρίζουν την τεχνολογία να πραγματοποιήσουν ένα σχέδιο crypto fraud», λένε οι ερευνητές.
Russian-speaking forums today offer an exclusive marketplace for hacked YouTube accounts, viewer boosting services, detailed instructions for creating a scam, bulletproof hosting services, and deepfake creation tools.
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Additionally, these forums are places for scammers, fake giveaway promoters, and various service contractors, so scammers don't need any knowledge to run these campaigns.
Group-IB says that a full crypto streaming design costs around $200, while producing a deepfake celebrity would set the scammers back around $30.
Fake giveaway pages cost between $200 and $600, the manuals are sold for about $100 and the fully automated toolkits range between $500 and $1,500 per month.
Prospective investors and digital asset enthusiasts should be cautious about cryptocoin giveaways and always carefully check the details behind these offers before providing any sensitive information.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
