(Rejected) Crypto Users Have Emerged as Rich Target for Innovative Cybercriminals: Visa Report

Since cybercriminals are simultaneously targeting offline and online vulnerabilities, crypto users have come out as a rich target for these innovative fraudsters, according to a report by payment giant Visa. 

Given that the digital commerce environment has been significantly accelerated by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, it continues to be the richest target for cybercriminals.

Per the report:

“Beyond attacks on traditional currency, threat actors are employing new tactics to defraud cryptocurrency users, including new malware focused on browser extension wallets for crypto users as well as innovation in phishing and social engineering schemes.” 

Visa added:

“Crypto bridge services are also a target. From January through February 2022, three sizeable thefts exploiting vulnerabilities in various bridge services netted cyber thieves over $400 million.”

The Visa Biannual Threats Report and MIT Technology Review Insights Study dubbed “Moving Money in a Digital World,” scrutinized how fraud has transformed since the onset of the pandemic. 

Paul Fabara, the chief risk officer at Visa, noted:

“As in-person commerce returns to pre-pandemic levels, crooks are back to exploiting the physical points of vulnerability in stores, while continuing to capitalize on e-commerce through malware, ransomware and phishing attacks, among others.” 

He added:

“In fact, we are continuing to see high rates of skimming, growing over the already elevated levels of the winter of 2021, where fraudsters are jumping on the rise of in-person activity.”

Even though cybercrime is wreaking havoc, Visa continues to roll out efforts to fight fraud. For instance, the payment giant has invested at least $9 billion on network security in the last five years. 

Meanwhile, a CNBC report disclosed that fraudsters were becoming sophisticated by the day, with their latest tool being one-time password (OTP) bots used to wipe out cryptocurrency accounts. 

For instance, Anders Apgar, an American Coinbase customer, fell victim to these bots and his account with $106,000 mainly in Bitcoin was drained. 

The report added that OTP bots were being freely sold on Telegram and were designed in such a way that investors got tricked into disclosing their two-factor authentication, prompting the loss of funds from crypto accounts.