Criminals position their applications as blockchain games created according to the Play-to-Earn concept (“play and earn”). Attackers contact victims on the Internet and invite them to play online games, where players can be rewarded in crypto assets for certain actions. For example, for growing crops on a virtual farm.
To take part in the game, scammers offer potential victims to create a cryptocurrency wallet, buy assets and download a game application. The more funds the user keeps in his game account, the greater will be his reward in the game, scammers convince.
When users stop depositing crypto assets into an account, the criminals empty the wallets of the victims using malware that is activated when the game is downloaded. The hackers promise the victims that they can get their funds back if they pay an additional tax or other fee. Naturally, when the victims go to the terms of the criminals, they still disappear with the money. The FBI recommends that users create their own cryptocurrency addresses, and not use those offered by scammers.
At the beginning of the year, the FBI, together with German and Dutch law enforcement officers, eliminated the large international Hive ransomware network, which managed to steal about $100 million in cryptocurrencies.
Source: Bits
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