MicroStrategy Hit by $440K Bitcoin Phishing Scam, Amid Rising Crypto Frauds
The Essentials in Brief
MicroStrategy, the world’s largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder, recently fell victim to a phishing attack. In this instance, a fake MSTR AirDrop was launched, relieving users of a total of $440,000 USD. The fraudsters used MicroStrategy’s X-Account (formerly Twitter) to spread the AirDrop link. The company has not yet officially confirmed the hack.
Details on the MicroStrategy Hack
The attack was uncovered by an X-user named Spreek. The fraudsters pretended that MicroStrategy was announcing the launch of a new token called MSTR, which is fully backed by its Bitcoin reserves. Unsuspecting users were enticed to click on the AirDrop link and were thus robbed of their cryptocurrencies. On-chain investigator ZachXBT estimates the losses at $440,000 USD.
Phishing Attacks are Increasing
According to the anti-fraud platform Scam Sniffer, nearly $300 million USD was lost to crypto-phishing scams in 2023, with over 320,000 users falling victim to such fraudulent campaigns. This trend continues in 2024, with over 40,000 victims defrauded of around $55 million USD in January alone.
Our Assessment
This incident underscores once again the need to be extremely cautious with online transactions and especially when dealing with cryptocurrencies. It is always advisable to thoroughly research before participating in airdrops or similar offers and to look out for red flags, such as being asked to send crypto-assets before AirDrop tokens can be claimed.
Sources
Aniket Verma, Saman Waris, ZachXBT, Scam Sniffer, Spreek
| Symbol | BTC |
| Coin type | Alt Coin |
| Transaction Speed | Slow |
| Pros |
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| Cons |
|
| Price | $96,605.00 |
| 24h % | -1.05 % |
| 7d % | -4.96 % |
| 30d % | 2.41 % |
| 60d % | 42.58 % |
| 1y % | 121.68 % |
| Market Cap | $1,912,377,429,814.00 |
| Max. Supply | 21,000,000.00 |
| Official Links | Website | Whitepaper | Source Code |
| Socials | Reddit | X | Message Board |
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