Hackers use Omani embassy to steal cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency hackers have hacked the Twitter account of the Indian Embassy of Oman, with the goal of publishing phishing links to steal digital assets from users who believe in a «free token giveaway.»

The fraudsters used a standard scheme: hacking a page with several hundred subscribers, publishing posts about a fake airdrop, and sharing posts by famous people to make it more believable. This time, the cryptocurrency XRP and Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse were targeted.

By clicking on the link, users risk losing their cryptocurrency savings. A similar situation occurred yesterday when hackers hacked the Twitter account of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX. Interestingly, here, too, the fraudsters promised to give everyone Ripple tokens — all they had to do was follow the link.

Attacking the Twitter accounts of well-known companies has become a common scheme of crypto fraudsters. A week ago, hackers hacked the Twitter account of the Nigerian Business Day news outlet and published an announcement of a digital asset giveaway on behalf of the largest bitcoin owner, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. And in early September, a similar situation occurred with the Brazilian office of the international consulting company PwC, a member of the Big Four, when the company’s Twitter account was hacked to post phishing links with an alleged XRP token giveaway.

As for the XRP cryptocurrency, which has apparently become a favorite digital asset of fraudsters, XRP remains the only token that is growing weekly, while other cryptocurrencies in the top 10 are showing a decline. The digital asset is popular among investors despite the ongoing litigation between Ripple and the SEC. The SEC accused Ripple of selling unregistered securities for seven years.