Binance affiliate crypto security expert Harry Denley helped a victim recover $10, 000 worth of lost cryptocurrency recently.
Denley and Binance Collaborate
In his last blog post, the security expert detailed how he went about it, with Binance’s help. He explained that in this cyber scam, the phishing technique was advanced and sophisticated. It imitated two separate user interfaces (UIs) in order to steal the victim’s private keys, keystore file, mnemonic data and much more sensitive personal information. He went on to say that in the case of unsuspecting users, this can do the trick and the scam can easily be pulled off.
How It Works
In order to steal cryptocurrency, the culprit deployed a malicious Decentralized App (DApp) interface – so a fake Ui, prompting the victim to connect to their MetaMask account. The malware then mimicked the MetaMask popup and threw an error state warning, which led the targeted cryptocurrency owner to enter the secret. Once that is done, the user’s input is then sent to the villain’s data via a “REST application interface”, which consists of an interface that uses less bandwidth and faster technology for more efficient internet usage. The victim is then finally directed to the legitimate application.
The crypto scam artist now has access to all the private information of the user and can now transfer crypto funds to his own digital wallet.
Cybersecurity to the Rescue
In order to assist the targeted victim and recuperate the stolen cryptocurrency, cybersecurity expert Denley took advantage of the fact that the database was open for both read and write, and searched the entries for the specific collections; he then ran the keys through his custom sweeper, and began his analysis of tracing the stolen cryptocurrencies.
Denley was able to retrieve the phished information from the scam artist’s open data and he ran it through his sweeper. This in turn allowed him to recover some of the stolen crypto funds.
On top of assisting the victim, Denley also uncovered other malicious domains targeting cryptocurrency investors.
With his software in place, Denley was able to deduce that the victim address belonged to an investor that used Binance, and so he reached out to the coin exchange. He then communicated with the victim and retransferred the recovered cryptocurrencies to the user’s new wallet address. Finally, he provided the crypto investor with some safety guides, to protect against future digital asset attacks.
Crypto Theft on Twitter
Theft of cryptocurrency is a lot more common now, with the rise in popularity of Bitcoins and altcoins. Just recently, a massive Bitcoin scam attack erupted on Twitter’s social platform and consequently, the verified accounts of numerous celebrities, tech moguls such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates, and political figures were seized. This mass attack stirred a lot of motion within the social media community, as scam artists were able to get away with at least $100, 000 worth of Bitcoins.
Twitter is now still working on uncovering the identities of the hackers, and they have apologized for the inconveniences and security breaches this outbreak has caused.