Crypto sextortion and phishing scammers are shifting their operation away from bitcoin to litecoin and other popular altcoins in order to avoid being detected by email filters.
Cofense, a web security platform that specializes in detecting and preventing phishing scams, released a report outlining a new crypto-based sextortion scam utilizing LTC. According to the report, the typical sextortion scam involves tricking users into believing their computer has been hacked, including their adult-search web history and webcam footage. Users are then forced to pay a ransom in crypto in order to prevent the information from being released publicly.
Cofense claims that many of these operations target users from password breaches, giving more authenticity to the initial phishing email. However, scammers are being forced to shift away from accepting bitcoin to litecoin and other alts in order to avoid detection by email filters.
According to the report,
Previous iterations showed a gradual shift away from identifiable patterns and to alternative crypto currencies, in an attempt to foil SEG bitcoin-detection rules. The current emails appear to be crafted to contain very few searchable word patterns.
Cofense also says that scammers are likely to continue switching the accepted crypto in order to prolong the scam and avoid phishing detection. The security platform encourages users to ignore phishing emails and take precautionary steps with email addresses that have become a target for scams.
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