An Elon Musk crypto-phishing scam, being promoted through an ongoing email campaign, is putting investors at risk.
Elon Musk Crypto-Phishing Scam
Investors are being warned of a new Elon Musk crypto-phishing scam which is being promoted through a currently ongoing email campaign.
The phishing campaign sends victims a HTML attachment that redirects the user to the site that promises to send 0.001 to 0.055 bitcoins to all users who participate.
This is not the first Elon Musk related phishing scam. According to the BBC, many crypto-currency scammers have profited off Tesla legend Elon Musk, making over £1.4m across six months.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission received around 7,000 complaints from people who had lost a reported £56.6m + in crypto scams.
These scams often come in the form of “giveaways” and target those investors who, like Musk, have been exploring the world of bitcoin and dogecoin.
What are Digital Privacy Experts Saying?
Hannah Hunt at ProPrivacy shares her expert opinion below:
A single tweet from Elon Musk can shift the landscape of cryptocurrency trading entirely – so it’s not surprising that scammers would attempt to piggyback off Musk’s polarising presence.
The Elon Musk Club email scam is a visually low-effort phishing attempt – making no attempt to deceive victims with convincing imagery or links. However, the allure of free bitcoin associated with such an iconic tech personality can add a sense of legitimacy to the ill offered opportunity.
Email scams like these are a classic form of phishing – leveraging social engineering techniques to get you to click a link or attachment which then directs you to phishing sites that are designed solely to steal your personal information.
Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and can only be refunded by the party who received the funds. To avoid losing your bitcoins to this scam and similar phishing attempts, there are some simple steps you can take.
Treat unexpected mail from unknown senders as suspicious, and comb through the content for anything that seems out of place; domains that don’t match the email signature, odd attachments, and misspelled or awkward phrasing.
The Musk club scams are particularly poorly constructed, and the bizarre header and lack of body text should raise concerns immediately. If you have even the slightest bit of doubt, don’t click any links or download any attachments.
