Google Ads are being used by bad actors to defraud crypto-users and take their assets. They do this through impersonating legitimate cryptocurrency platforms, and using other questionable tactics.
Ads that promote crypto scams are increasingly being exploited by platforms such as Google Ads. This puts crypto users in danger.
These ads are used by cybercriminals to direct users to fake crypto-platforms, including wallets and exchanges.
Scammers have faked Uniswap’s new Ethereum Layer 2 solution Unichain. This has generated a great deal of excitement in the crypto-community, and even pushed the native UNI token of the decentralized Exchange up over 10% after the announcement.
Scammers took advantage of the excitement by creating a fake unlchalindefi[. The fake website unlchalindefi[.com was created to appear as if it were affiliated with the original platform.
The scammers have replaced some sections on the site to trick users.
The “Get Started’ button was replaced with “Connect”, and the button “Read the Docs”, with “Bridge”. This encourages users to connect their wallets.
The site will spam the users with fake transaction requests in order to get them to approve malicious transactions. This drains their cryptocurrency funds.
Scammers purchased ad spaces from Google, which enabled them to display their bogus website at the top of Google search results.
The ad appeared to be the real URL of the website at first, but when users clicked on it, they were redirected to a fake platform.
Scam Sniffer first reported on the scam by Google Search Results Oct. 15, 2015.
Google has removed both the fake advertisement and website at the time this article was written.
Deception is a rabbit hole
It’s one of many cases where criminals have been able to bypass the filters on search engines.
Scammers impersonating Revoke Cash Crypto – a recovery service – were seen last month redirecting users to an deceptive site where their cryptocurrency wallets had been compromised by malicious scripts.
Regular users may not be able to spot scams like this.
In August, scammers targeted the DeFiLlama platform, a popular data-aggregator. An ad that mimicked the platform appeared on the search results page.
This scam may look similar to the last one at first, but the strategy this time was more sophisticated.
The fake ads did not redirect the users automatically to malicious websites, but rather at random.
Often, the redirect happens after the first click.
Another scam was promoted in April by fraudsters who created a fake version of Whales Market – an online crypto-platform. They did this to trick users into visiting the real platform.
These malicious ads are not limited to stealing cryptocurrency assets.
These fraudulent websites may expose users to cyberattacks such as drive-by downloading, watering hole attacks or malware deployment.
The threats are able to compromise the devices of users, steal their personal data, and install malicious software, all without them knowing. This increases the risk associated with interacting on such malicious sites.
Google is fighting back
Google is taking steps to combat scams, which are still a threat to users of web3.
The tech giant sued two Chinese citizens earlier this year for using Google Play as a platform to promote fake cryptocurrency investments.
Google also said that it had purged the 90 fraud apps used by these scammers.
Google suspended over 12.7 millions advertiser accounts and blocked more than 5.5 billion advertisements last year for violations of various policies. These included those relating to fraud and misrepresentation.
The company also has a policy called “Limited Ads Serving”, which restricts the advertising reach for advertisers with a weak reputation. This is to prevent bad actors from spreading scams.
Google also took legal action to stop scammers. A recent case targeted individuals who used Google Ads for the promotion of fake cryptocurrency websites.
Google admits, despite these efforts, that scammers have become more sophisticated. They continue to upgrade their systems in order to combat new threats.
As it stands, one of the best ways to protect themselves when exploring the crypto-space is by staying up-to date on the latest scams and checking thoroughly before clicking any links.
The post Fake Google Ads are Targeting Unsuspecting Users to Steal Cryptocurrency may change as new information becomes available.
This site is for entertainment only. Click here to read more
