Binance Phishing Attack Is Underway, Warns CEO Changpeng Zhao

A phishing attack has been recently launched against Binance. Some customers received an sms urging them to cancel a withdrawal from an 'unknown ip address'.

Clicking on the link in the sms will direct users to a login page, which if provided allow the hackers to obtain their login credentials. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (also known as 'CZ') warned about clicking on the links in text messages.

Binance Phishing Attack

The following tweet was made by the Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (aka 'CZ'):

"There is a massive Phishing scam via SMS with a link to cancel withdrawals. It leads to a phishing website to harvest your credential as in the screenshot below. NEVER click on links from SMS! Always go to binance.com via a bookmark or type it in."

It is unclear how many customers were targeted and whether the hackers succeeded in their scheme. Phishing attacks are very common. Antivirus software may succeed in flagging some of the attacks but public awareness is important.

NFTs and Scalping Bots

A fairly new type of attack is targeting Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) auctions that are carried on in marketplaces. According to PermiterX, scalping bots are used in NFTs 'auctions to benefit the attacker.

Bots place multiple bids in the marketplace below the asking price. If the NFT owner that listed the NFT for sale accepts one of the bids, they are immediately cancelled.

The result of the above will devalue the NFT when it is re-listed. The bots can then buy the NFT at a marginally lower price and resell it for a profit.

The other type is manipulating NFTs by driving the price higher. The bots purchase NFTs that are available for sale at the lowest available price. When the NFT is resold, it will be above the prior amount of the recent sale. It may deceive NFT collectors that there is high demand for the NFTs and buy at a higher price (above the prior sale).

The third type of manipulation is done by the NFT seller. The seller may place higher bids for the NFT he is trying to auction and then reject the bids. It may provide a false impression that the NFT is 'very valuable,' which lures customers into bidding for the NFT at a higher price.

As written earlier, awareness of such potential exploits is important in today's markets.