Impersonation Scams Surge: Cryptocurrency-Related Crimes Generate $4.6 Billion in 2023
Summary:
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified an increase in impersonation scams using government employees' identities, particularly in relation to cryptocurrency. Fraudulent activities have become a significant income source within cryptocurrency-related crimes, generating roughly $4.6 billion in 2023. Chainalysis, a prominent blockchain analysis company, underscores the rising importance of public education and implementing protective measures against these scams. The company also noted prevalent scam techniques including approval phishing and cryptocurrency draining.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a warning on June 12 concerning an increase in identity theft scams, in which the fraudsters frequently use the identities of government employees. The CISA underlines that its personnel never ask for funds transfers, "cash, cryptocurrencies, or gift card use." The agency advises individuals who believe they might have been contacted by a scammer masquerading as a CISA employee to refuse payment, note the caller's phone number, disconnect the call immediately, and then verify the contact by reaching out to CISA directly.
In response to inquiries from Cointelegraph, Chainalysis noted that scams remain a significant hazard for the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem. A representative from Chainalysis disclosed that fraudulent activities have once again become a significant source of revenue from cryptocurrency-related crimes, pulling in roughly $4.6 billion in 2023.
Identity theft scams, in particular, had the fourth most severe impact on victims in 2023, with an average payment size of $948, as disclosed by the Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Crime Report.
In line with the precautions suggested by CISA on the subject of scam prevention, Chainalysis emphasizes the importance of public awareness as the first barrier of defense against large-scale fraudulent activity.
Chainalysis also noted two particularly prevalent scam techniques: approval phishing and cryptocurrency draining. Approval phishing fraudsters have conventionally targeted a large number of cryptocurrency users through the spread of counterfeit crypto applications, a strategy that has been adopted by so-called romance scammers or pig butchering scammers, leading to considerable financial losses.
Cryptocurrency drain agents frequently advertise their fraudulent Web3 portals in Discord communities and on hacked social media accounts, enticing victims to link their cryptocurrency wallets to the draining device, and then using the approval phishing technique to fool victims into authorizing transactions that hand over control of the funds inside the wallet to the operator.
In conclusion, Chainalysis highlighted the increasing necessity for Web3 projects and users to adopt protective security measures, such as Web3 security extensions, to fight these fraudulent techniques.
Published At
6/15/2024 12:40:52 PM
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