Decentraland X Account Compromised: Phishing Scam Targets MANA Airdrop

Highlights:

• PeckShield has reported that hackers gained access to Decentraland’s official X handle.
• The culprits aim to steal unsuspecting users’ funds via fake links posing as MANA airdrop.
• Currently, no significant report about the number of affected victims has emerged.

According to a September 19 post, PeckShield, a renowned blockchain security firm, has called followers’ attention to an ongoing phishing scam involving Decentraland (MANA) X account. The tweet from PeckShield revealed that the culprits behind the attempted scam are circulating fake links, mimicking the MANA airdrop.

Stressing further, the blockchain security outlet highlighted the phishing site as “launch-decentraland.org.” It warned users to avoid clicking the link pending an official release from the Virtual Reality (VR) platform.

The malicious tweet appeared on Decentraland’s verified X handle in the early hours of today at 01:50 am. Interestingly, to make the scam more realistic, the perpetrators pinned the tweet and added a comment explaining why they had to turn off comments. “Comments turned off due to malicious links. Good luck all,” the malicious actor remarked.

Meanwhile, before then, the last post on the VR platform’s handle emerged at 10:00 pm UTC on September 18. It was describing its virtual world fashion ecosystem. Hence, market participants could estimate the period within which the malicious act happened.

#PeckShieldAlert @decentraland's X has been compromised. The phishing site is launch-decentraland[.]org.
Do *NOT* click the link until further official announcements pic.twitter.com/GsvEG15P4A

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 19, 2024

Phishing Attack Targets Users Funds Via Wallet Addresses

Clicking the fake links will redirect unsuspecting victims to a fraudulent website, requesting their wallet addresses to claim the MANA airdrops. Hence, the scammers will gain access to victims’ wallets, which could result in losses of varying degrees, depending on the volume of stored digital assets in the addresses.

While no information disclosing the numbers of affected users has surfaced, chances abound that considerable numbers of unsuspecting users must have fallen victim. For context, on its official handle, Decentraland boasts a massive follower base, estimated to be around 607K.

In addition, the period between the initial malicious tweet and PeckShield’s warning was more than five hours. Therefore, it affords the perpetrators enough time to attract victims from the massive followers pool.

In the virtual world fashion pushes the boundaries of what's possible ✨

In Decentraland citizens experiment with everything from the fantastical to the futuristic.

🛍️ #WearableWednesday feat @multinft @CheddarQueso3D@CanessaDCL and @Rishi10561916 pic.twitter.com/adhWlKmzMl

— Decentraland (@decentraland) September 18, 2024

Crypto Scam is Evolving into a Global Trend

The phishing scam described in this insight shares similarities with several scam ventures making rounds in the crypto sphere. Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released a report revealing that Americans lost $5.6 billion to crypto fraud in 2023. Interestingly, the forfeited amount represents a 45% surge from the previous year.

Per the IC3 report, it received over 69,000 complaints involving crypto fraud. As usual, scam victims were more of the aged population, contributing an estimated $1.6 billion in losses. On the other extreme are the younger market participants, with losses totaling about $168 million.

Meanwhile, a similar report emerged in a different news article from the Australian Federal Police (AFP). However, contrary to the FBI’s statistics, Australians suffered lesser losses. According to the AFP, its nation’s citizens have forfeited $122 million to crypto scams in the past 12 months. Interestingly, Australian scam targets are mainly victims of less than fifty years.