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Phishing scams targeting cryptocurrency users appear to be far from over according to an update from XRP Forensics, which claims that nearly 1,150,000 XRP tokens have been stolen in a new scam. This one specifically targeted Ledger wallet users and went to length of sending security update emails to unsuspecting XRP token holders.
We also see an increase in reports of XRP stolen as a result of this scam. Watch out! 🚨 https://t.co/azd674Hesj
– XRP Forensics (@xrpforensics) November 5, 2020
According to the XRP Forensics update of November 5th, there has been an increase in stolen XRP reports, most of which attribute to this scam. Since then, the team managing the analysis on XRPlorer has urged the community to stay alert to minimize the window of opportunity for attackers.
“We also see an increase in reports of XRP stolen as a result of this scam. Beware!”
Like in the old phishing tricks, the attackers replaced the letter “e” so that the Ledger site wallet appears real on the first interaction. Victims were forced to download an update while, in the true sense of the term, attackers were directing them to the fake website to drain XRP balances into their Ledger wallets.
Despite recent collaborative efforts to stop such attacks, the hackers managed to withdraw all compromised tokens by sending them to the Bittrex exchange in five transactions. At the time, the exchange was unable to seize the funds, resulting in the loss of approximately 1,150,000 XRP tokens from users of the Ledger wallet. At the time of publication, it is worth around $ 297k.
Most notably, the hardware wallet vendor fell victim to a data breach in July, in which data from approximately 9,500 customers was compromised. Although they acted swiftly to repair the vulnerability, Ledger had already been exposed to a significant amount of damage. Hackers now seem to get ahead of the game with a combination of phishing scams accompanied by legitimate-looking emails.
In this case, the attackers have circulated an email that looks like an official communication from the Ripple team. This information suggested a community support program and incentive program as part of a financial recovery strategy and more than 5 billion XRP tokens up for grabs. However, the problem is that attackers require registration of users’ wallet addresses and private keys.
Note: Never give up on your private keys. They are called Private keys for a reason.
XRP has had its fair share of phishing scams, with around 6 million XRPs lost in 2019 while this year’s figure is 3 million. The company has attempted to counter this challenge and recently filed a lawsuit against YouTube for failing to take action against malicious actors posing as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Following these stats, XRP tokens appear to be a favorite gem for phishing scammers.
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