Cryptocurrency Owner Thwarts Scam Attempt by Fake Forbes Journalist
Summary:
A Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) owner, 'Crumz', narrowly dodged a scam by a fake journalist pretending to be conducting an interview for Forbes. The scammer, impersonating Forbes Editor Robert LaFanco, attempted to gain control of Crumz's computer during a faux Zoom interview designed to steal his digital assets. Cryptocurrency platform Rollbit's associate, ‘@3orovik’, and BAYC community member Laura Rod have also reported similar encounters. The increase in such scams, involving phony journalists luring victims to grant PC access, is a growing concern in the crypto community.
A Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) owner, known as 'Crumz', narrowly avoided a potential disaster following a scam attempt involving a pretend interview with Forbes. On November 27, Crumz described his encounter with an individual posing as Forbes journalist Robert LaFanco on an imitated account, seeking to feature him in a piece about BAYCs.
In the course of the falsified interview, Crumz and the bogus reporter were using a voice and video conference call, during which Crumz was asked to enable recording by clicking a button. Even though certain unusual circumstances, such as the interviewer utilizing a basic Zoom account and needing a separate application to record the screen, Crumz complied.
When the scammer asked him to fetch a banana to show a resemblance to his ape, Crumz became suspicious that this was an attempt to distract him from his computer so the scammer could assume control and seize his digital assets. Instead of retrieving the banana, Crumz kept watch on his computer and saw that indeed, the fraudsters started to manipulate his screen.
Cryptocurrency platform Rollbit's associate ‘@3orovik’ mirrored Crumz's cautionary tale to his 140,000 Twitter followers on the same day. He warned of a phony profile in the name of ‘Robert LaFranco’, claiming to be a Forbes assistant managing editor, who sought to con unsuspecting victims into granting access to their PCs in order to steal their valuable NFTs.
BAYC community member Laura Rod also reported an encounter with the same fraudulent Forbes editor. An increase in such scams has been noted by blockchain security company Slowmist, where victims have had their crypto assets stolen by impostor journalists. These scammers typically arrange an interview, usually via Telegram, provide an interview guideline, carry out the interview then send a harmful link supposedly for publication approval.
In a similar incident in October, a user on Friend.tech was fooled by a fake Bloomberg reporter, resulting in a depleted account after they clicked on a link under the guise of a 'consent form'. Multiple cryptocurrency observers have pointed out the trend where Twitter scammers often use a BAYC profile picture as a façade.
Published At
11/27/2023 6:05:56 AM
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