According to CNBC, fraudsters increasingly use one-time password (OTP) bots to wipe out cryptocurrency accounts.
People dupe investors into giving their two-factor authentication, resulting in losing funds from crypto accounts.
Last month, these bots robbed the account of Anders Apgar, an American Coinbase user, of $106,000 in Bitcoin.
Apgar was at dinner with his family when his wife’s phone rang with a continuous robocall. When he picked it up, he received a message that his account was in peril.
When Mr. Apgar picked up his phone, chaos ensued. Welcome to the Coinbase security prevention line, said a female voice. It stated that they had discovered illicit activity on his account as a result of a failed log-in attempt. It was then that they persuaded Mr. Apgar to pick up his phone.
Afraid of what had happened, he pressed one, and his account was locked in seconds. He couldn’t remember whether he manually input the two-factor authentication code or if it appeared on its own.
Apgar, devastated by the 19-second discussion that cost him his crypto, described his sentiments as “dread and desolation.”
Fraudsters on 2FA Code
This sort of fraud takes advantage of the two-factor authentication (2FA) code by instilling fear in people’s minds that hackers are compromising their accounts. When investors adopt the proposed action, they open themselves up to fraudsters.
According to the research, they generate bot calls professionally, creating a sense of urgency and confidence. The calls rely on fear to persuade victims to take action in order to prevent account fraud.
Jessica Kelley, a Q6 cyber analyst, investigated the issue and found over six Telegram bot selling channels with 10,000+ users.
She went on to say that before these OTP bots, a cybercriminal would have to dial the number personally. And today, thanks to these bots, there is an automation of the system, allowing for considerably more scalability.
Previously, the US Department of Justice said that it had seized 90,000 Bitcoins worth $3.6 billion from a Manhattan-based couple suspected of being one of the instigators behind the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack, which resulted in the theft of 119,754 BTC.
