The recent phishing attack used Google Ads resulting in a loss of $500,000

As a new twist in phishing attacks, the attackers in the latest $500,000 attack mimicked the platforms like Phantom and Metamask to look like a legitimate platform. The inclusion of Google ads for the fake wallets looked deceptively similar to the genuine platform’s wallets which tricked the users into downloading them, leading to a scam of over $500,000.

The recent phishing attack of fake wallets in another avatar of a phishing attempt where a bad actor, acting like a legitimate entity, fools users to reveal their personal information. The primary factor leading to this loss is advertisement. 

The users who have familiarity with the wallets might have picked up on the next red flag: a wallet passphrase request. This is because the legitimate sites’ wallets do not include this step. However, the victims, people who are new to wallets, very easily got trapped in the attacker’s false intentions by acceding to this request. This resulted in the loss of all their money. 

As per a research study by software company Check Point Software Technologies, a passphrase is a tool to recover a crypto wallet. Compromising the passphrase is analogous to revealing one’s account password.

The research further says that legitimate wallets, including Metamask and Phantom, are not websites but are browser extensions. It is essential to manage one’s wallet, especially in an industry like crypto, as, unlike stolen credit cards, most of the attacks are non-recoverable here.

Google Ads and crypto attacks history

Google Ads are not seen as the common way to fool users, but it is a potential way to hide fakeness in plain sight. The last ad attack was on a user who lost $15,000 a year ago while participating in a false cryptocurrency sale.

The policy by Google Ads now does not allow advertisements for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), DeFi protocols, or ads promoting the selling and buying of cryptocurrencies. However, certified and licensed wallets and exchanges are allowed to advertise. 

As TheCoinRise keeps reporting about attacks and hacks in the industry, the users should be responsible and should check the legitimacy of the sites and platforms while investing.