Google’s Anti-Fraud Chief: Scammers Target Cryptocurrency Boasters Online

Anybody with an email knows about email scams. Anybody with cryptocurrency knows about crypto scams. Now it seems that there’s a new threat in the online arena – one that combines between the two.

In an interview with CNBC, Google’s top fraud cop Mark Risher stated that boasting online about holding cryptocurrency just might be equivalent to putting a big shining mark on your back. Apparently, when scammers are on the hunt for a new prey, they search for a high-value target; and mentioning that you own cryptocurrency “on a public message board” increases the chances that you’ll become this kind of a target.

Risher said there has been uptick in attacks against people who hold cryptocurrencies in digital wallets. These attacks can often be traced back to a post by the victim on a public message board, which is then quickly followed by criminal attempts on their email accounts.

The reason is simple: Some cryptocurrency wallet providers allow users to reset their access to the wallet through email. Attackers can then use the email reset to open the wallet and steal cryptocurrency.

For email hackers and fraudsters, getting an illicit access to a crypto-owner’s email account could be a goldmine; the victim’s digital wallet is connected to his/her email, and thus – upon obtaining the crypto-owners digital wallet’s details from the internet – it enables unauthorized admission to the digital wallet too.

One familiar story that can demonstrate this kind of a fraud is Ian Balina’s. Balina is a known crypto investor who, during a live ICO review, discovered that more than $2 million worth of crypto had disappeared from his digital wallets. It seems that scammers might have seen some of Balina’s crypto holdings, which he had posted on Twitter, and that made his email account their objective.

So if you’re looking for a better excuse why you shouldn’t brag about your cryptocurrency portfolio, this might be a good reason.