FBI: crypto exchanges and users at risk of attack

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyber attacks and intrusions. The FBI believes there could soon be attacks targeting crypto exchanges. They issued a warning directed at cryptocurrency owners, exchanges and digital payment platforms, warning that there is a risk of attacks that could lead to serious losses. 

Hackers are reportedly using increasingly sophisticated attack systems.

They pretend to be the technical support of an exchange, or they take control of accounts by forcing the authentication system, or they “take control” of the SIM cards of victims that they manage to command.

Types of attacks on exchanges and crypto users according to the FBI

The most common attack usually starts with:

• EMAILS that look like official communications from well-known platforms, but are in fact replicas from malicious actors.  In this type of scam, users are usually redirected to a landing page where they are asked to enter their login credentials, which is enough for hackers to take over their account.
• Bogus Technical Support for the user, who believes he is talking to representatives of an exchange but is instead releasing sensitive data that is stolen.
• “SIM swapping” in this case, hackers hijack the traffic of a phone onto a SIM in their possession, which they do by forcing the providers of the service providers.

This allows hackers to receive messages and calls from victims that enable them to bypass security systems, such as those that require them to enter a code that arrives via text message. This allows criminals to gain undisturbed access to the applications used by their victims, and to empty bank accounts and wallets.

The same advice always applies

• equip yourself with appropriate protection systems;
• pay attention to the senders of emails, even when they appear authentic;
• do not download suspicious documents;
• if in doubt about the identity of an email sender, contact him directly to make sure he is the one who sent the email;
• be careful with emails that ask you to enter your details.

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