Cybersecurity firm Sophos has alerted iOS users to the rise of victims of a new type of cryptocurrency scam, CryptoRom.
Sophos experts report that a new type of scam is when attackers use a dating site to convince a user to install a fake cryptocurrency trading application, and then offer to invest money in various financial projects. In order for the victim to trust the scammers and invest large amounts, she is paid a small profit from the transaction. After investing a large amount of money, scammers stop communicating.
“In our research, we found that scammers targeting iOS users were distributing malware through Apple Enterprise Signature,” the company said.
Sophos estimates that criminals have already made millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from the CryptoRom scam. After checking the address to which one of the victims was sending cryptocurrency, it turned out that at that time the account balance was $ 1.39 million. However, this is just one known address where the victims are transferring cryptocurrencies. The scale of the criminal scheme can be much larger.
Experts believe that in order to reduce the number of fraudulent victims, Apple should warn users who install applications through Apple Enterprise Signature or through corporate security systems that these applications have not passed Apple verification.
The number of cybercrimes related to cryptocurrency is growing every year. Australia previously drafted a law that would enable law enforcement to seize cryptocurrencies associated with cybercrime. The US authorities have assessed the scale of losses from cybercrimes and are forming a working group to investigate attacks and fight hackers who use ransomware viruses and demand a ransom in cryptocurrency to unlock data.
According to research by the cybersecurity company ESET, Russia is the leader in the number of cryptocurrency-related crimes.
