Rising Crypto Phishing Attacks Masquerade as Patreon Emails Spark Widespread Concern
Summary:
Spikes in cryptocurrency-related phishing attacks disguised as emails from creator platform Patreon have raised concerns across the crypto community. Despite Patreon's reassurances that the discovered issue, which fraudulently enlisted users for harmful emails mimicking legitimate crypto projects, has been resolved, some users still report receiving these scam messages. The growing sophistication of scammers and the consistent risk underline the necessity for heightened cybersecurity in the crypto sphere.
Widespread concern is growing amid the crypto community as phishing attempts are on the rise, appearing to originate from the popular artist platform Patreon. Social media platforms X and Reddit users posted reports that their email addresses have been fraudulently signed up for Patreon, where they are then targeted with malicious emails mimicking genuine cryptocurrency projects from the platform. These phishing attempts became more noticeable from January 23, with fake promotional airdrop offers purporting to come from well-known crypto projects like Chainlink (LINK), Solana (SOL), Manta Network (MANTA), and Sui (SUI).
Reports suggest that the scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated; they lure unsuspecting users with seemingly legitimate emails only to redirect them to fraudulent websites.
In reaction to these growing concerns, Patreon Support communicated with a member of the cryptocurrency community on X on January 25, confirming that they had identified and fixed the issue. The problem was reportedly stemming from a "misleading email verification process followed by a cryptocurrency account claiming affiliation with Patreon." In addition, they assured those affected that the situation was being addressed. An alleged email from Patreon further elaborated that the scam attempt was a coordinated effort to acquire access to users' crypto wallets, but asserted that the problem had been resolved.
Despite the platform’s assurance, some users on X platform have continued to report receiving these malicious emails over the past four days. A Reddit user declared receiving half a dozen such emails on January 28, all of which mentioned a 'Manta' airdrop. Simultaneously, others on the platform offered a more optimistic outlook, suggesting the added defense mechanisms are functioning as intended.
As phishing scams continue to be a major concern within the cryptocurrency community, Patreon has yet to respond to a request for comment. Statistics from blockchain security platform, Scam Sniffer, show that phishing scams caused approximately $295 million in losses for over 324,000 crypto users in 2023.
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Published At
1/29/2024 8:22:49 AM
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