Web3 Security Reminder: New Trends in Phishing Scams on Social Media Platforms

Recently, with the launch of airdrop activities for multiple projects, Web3 users have entered a season of harvest. However, this has also attracted the attention of criminals who have set their sights on these potential victims. A new type of scam technique has quietly emerged on social media platforms, utilizing fake accounts for phishing scams. These criminals spread a large number of fake airdrop claiming links in the comment sections of official accounts, luring users to click and attempt to claim tokens. Once users inadvertently fall for the trap, they may suffer financial losses.

This "high imitation account phishing scam" has developed into an organized, large-scale criminal activity that poses a serious threat to users' financial security.

Social Media Platforms Become New Battlegrounds for Scams

In recent months, multiple victims have reported that they encountered coin theft after clicking on the so-called "airdrop claim links" on social platforms. These links are actually phishing links posted by high-fidelity accounts of certain projects.

For example, in a case involving a high imitation account related to a certain project. The project announced that its tokens would be listed on multiple well-known trading platforms, but the official airdrop query link was not released until several days later. Criminals took advantage of this time gap to spread false token claim links extensively on social platforms, leading one victim to mistakenly believe it was true. After clicking the phishing link, the victim was tricked into giving authorization and lost 136.2 ETH. Currently, the phishing webpage involved in the case is no longer accessible, and the imitation accounts have also disappeared.

Through technical analysis, it was found that in multiple cases of authorized phishing and coin theft, the addresses used by the attackers have been marked as specific malware.

The Industrialization of Counterfeit Account Scams

The high-fidelity account scam has formed a complete black industrial chain, including the purchase of relevant social media accounts, targeted content pushing, large-scale dissemination, and the generation of phishing websites. This type of scam not only has a clear operational process but can also be paid anonymously through third-party services.

1. Purchase related accounts

Fraudsters first purchase high-quality accounts that have a large number of followers and verification badges, copying the official account's profile picture and description, using similar IDs to create highly deceptive imitation accounts.

2. Multi-account phishing link propagation

Fraud gangs exploit the content recommendation mechanism of social platforms to push fraudulent information to target audiences. Common tactics include spamming the comment section and using multiple accounts to manipulate keyword visibility.

3. Purchase Promotion Services

Some social media platforms have failed to effectively filter fraudulent information during paid promotion, allowing phishing links to gain opportunities for paid promotion.

4. Use specific malware

The malware used in some scam cases is a tool specifically designed to illegally empty cryptocurrency wallets. This software is rented out by its developers, and anyone who pays can use it. Once the victim connects their wallet, the software will detect and transfer the most valuable assets.

Countermeasures

In the face of this new type of scam, users need to remain vigilant:

1. Familiarize yourself with the basic mechanisms of social platforms, remember the unique ID of the official account, and pay attention to the number of common followers.
2. Verify the authenticity of information through multiple channels, and do not easily trust a single source.
3. Carefully review the contents of the wallet plugin's pop-up. Do not sign easily if you are unsure about the transaction details.
4. Be cautious with links in the comment section, especially in the comment section of long articles.

With the industrialization of cryptocurrency cybercrime, not only are user interests harmed, but the healthy development of the entire industry is also affected. If you unfortunately suffer losses, please seek professional help in a timely manner.