November 5, 2021

Threat actors are capitalizing on Google search ads to promote fake cryptocurrency wallets in order to defraud victims of their cryptocurrency.

In a recent discovery by security researchers at CheckPoint, threat actors can achieve this dubious goal by cloning real websites, leading unsuspecting victims to believe they are installing the legitimate platform.

As soon as users visit one of the fake websites, for example Phantom, they are prompted to create a new wallet and at the same time file a recovery phrase used to restore the wallet and password for access.

With these details, attackers can access any cryptocurrency stored in the wallet. Once set up, victims are redirected to the real Phantom wallet page, where they download the official Chrome plugin.

For the campaign impersonating MetaMask, the threat actors not only divert Ethereum transactions, but also steal all the assets the victim has.

Users are advised to follow a number of procedures to keep their cryptocurrency secure, including not entering their passphrase / private key on a website or sharing it with anyone; checking the platform’s URLs before entering credentials; ensuring that clicking on website results and not on promoted ads occurs while searching for wallet apps on Google; taking time to assess signs of fraud.

For more information, read the original story in Bleeping Computer.