One of the world’s top retailers Walmart Inc., targets by an attack seeking to influence the price of Litecoin.
Walmart has announced a big relationship with Litecoin, according to a bogus press release produced by Globe Newswire. After the report was proven as a scam, Litecoin spiked and then rapidly tanked. Litecoin (LTC-USD) reportedly rose 25% in less than a half-hour, from $174 to a “session high of $232.”
Fake News
“As it pertains to Litecoin, the press release is not real,” a representative for Walmart said in a statement.
Several foreign news sites picked up the fake announcement. But many others quickly pointed out problems in the press release. Stating that the bogus news that spread all morning highlights the necessity to thoroughly investigate before believing wholly fabricated material presented as factual.
Globe Newswire said in a statement that “journalists and other readers should dismiss the press release”. But didn’t explain how or the reason for the creation behind it.
Additionally, scammers lately used social media and messaging apps to contact investment scam victims. Experts expect this trend to continue. By the end of the year, The Motley Fool polled, there will be 26,500 crypto frauds reported to the authorities, resulting in $419 million in damages. The FTC received over 14,000 investment fraud reports in the first quarter of 2021, totaling $215 million.
Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation are not new tactics. However, their rising frequency and reach on social media can have terrible effects on businesses. Ranging from brand harm to considerable financial loss to unrealistic customer expectations.
In response to a series of large influencer Twitter postings regarding Walmart embracing Litecoin for crypto-asset purchases. Coalfire’s Karl Steinkamp, Director of PCI Product and Quality Assurance, says that the misleading news article by Globe Newswire isn’t exclusive to crypto. Social media’s quick dissemination of news may be a double-edged sword.
Quick news distribution via social media may have a downside
It can assist countries, governments, corporations, and consumers make better decisions faster if applied appropriately. To “pump and dump,” propagate infections, or promote political messages using “news” serves those who distribute it.
In less than 20 minutes, those that used this news piece and marketing plan probably made a 70% profit. When the information reveals to be false, many people took to social media to denounce it. “Media outlets and social media users must fact verify content before accepting it as true and disseminating it.”
A new study from New York University and Université Grenoble Alpes in France found that fake news received six times interaction as actual news on Facebook. It shows the impact of fake news and disinformation on social media. As well as how it affects our surroundings, says Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4.
Kron claims that anyone with internet access and a few hours to spare could pull this off. Domain spoofing, or creating a lookalike domain, is a fairly effective way to deceive people. To entice potential victims to click on hazardous links or documents, email phishing typically uses this strategy.
Regulators typically do not manage these names. Thus a bad actor can set up an internet domain and run a website for around $20 and 30 minutes.
“Like phishing attacks, education on how to discern legitimate domains amid a sea of fakes would go a long way,” Kron says. Indeed, Always go to the real brand’s website or social media account, which can quickly uncover any deception.
