Hackers steal $17,000 in a giveaway scam on Bitcoin.org

Threat actors hacked Bitcoin.org, the official website of the Bitcoin project, and changed parts of it to promote a cryptocurrency giveaway scam. The attack only lasted a day, but the hackers made off with a little more than $17,000. The Bitcoin Foundation wishes to support the users who have assisted them over the years, according to the home page of bitcoin.org on September 23rd. It enticed victims to send Bitcoins to the attacker’s advertised wallet address, promising to send back double the amount.

 

Scammers added that the offer was limited to the first 10,000 users to further appeal to the allegation.

 

Soon after the hack, the site operator(s) of Bitcoin.org, known as Cbra, issued a public notice claiming that they had been hacked. Although Bitcoin is thought to have been created by a pseudonymous identity known only as “Satoshi Nakamoto,” the author of the research paper that gave rise to the cryptocurrency, a newer identity known only as “Cbra” has recently been seen managing the Bitcoin.org website, social media, and community channels.

 

Following Cbra’s declaration, Bitcoin.org’s name registrar Namecheap immediately disabled the domain until the problem was resolved.

 

Sadly, as evidenced by the attacker’s wallet balance, some bitcoin aficionados may have fell for the hoax. Multiple deposits were made to the attacker’s wallet from different Bitcoin addresses, according to the transaction history. The wallet’s most recent balance was 0.40571238 BTC, which is almost $17,000. Bitcoin.org is now operational again. The fundamental reason for the website hijacking is yet unknown.

 

Assailants that put up these lures have had a lot of success; therefore, giveaway scams have become a popular topic in the cryptocurrency world.

 

All users should be on the lookout for cryptocurrency scams and emails.

 

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