Malicious actors are on the prowl again with a new scam meant to defraud unsuspecting crypto users. The trick has been exposed by Russia’s cyber security firm, Kaspersky. In a blog post, Kaspersky highlighted that these scammers deliberately drop seed phrases on YouTube comments.
Notably, the approach differs from phishing emails targeting victims, sometimes including top crypto executives.
The Scam Unveiled
The malicious actors’ mode of operation is to include a seemingly harmless message in the comment section of a finance YouTube video. For instance, the scammer could share their seed phrase and seek “help” to move funds from their wallets.
According to experts, that move alone marks the request as highly suspicious. Notably, a new entrant into the crypto world would know better than to share their seed phrase. It is part of the basic orientation given to all potential participants.
For clarification, a seed phrase helps a participant recover access to a crypto wallet. This phrase is randomly generated in a unique sequence from the dictionary. It is a key to unlocking the user’s wallet and accessing the funds therein.
Interestingly, subjecting the comment in the YouTube video to a forensic test confirmed it was a scam meant to lure. A key tell-tale indicator that gave it away was that the message was on several different videos, bearing the same phrase and request.
How the Crypto Scam Steals Funds
The scammer aims to get a potential “helper” to part with some funds. The trick is that the crypto wallet has been set up as a multi-signature wallet. The scammers assume that when someone has been lured to the wallet and sees the fund, they want to allocate it to their wallet instead of helping.
However, given the setup of the wallet, a potential victim will see that the token fee is insufficient to make the transfer. When they transfer from their wallet to the “bait wallet,” it does not arrive, but channels to a third account, and the funds are transferred and lost.
Experts Say Scam Targeting Greed and Ignorance
Experts say this strategy could have been designed to target greedy users online seeking free lunch, only for them to end up as victims. It highlights the constant innovation by malicious actors in their quest to perpetrate fraud.
They advise everyone to remain vigilant while in crypto and be cautious of any information or requests. This has become necessary as millions have been lost to scammers via various means.
