There has been news about a new app circling the web for the last week, which promised users around $45 as daily payments in Bitcoin for free. If that isn’t already suspicious, then you should hear the way the app was supposed to supply those funds to all those willing to participate.
The app’s name is Bitcoin Collector, which would supply the users with a unique URL to share with the crypto community. As long as a thousand people pressed on that URL, the owner of the link would be rewarded with 3 Ethereum, which is around $800 at the time of writing this article.
Unfortunately, there have already been some victims to the scam. The software, after downloading and launching, would encrypt all of the users’ personal information on their computer. Be it offline accounts on various software, or online credentials on bank accounts and crypto wallets.
How does the scam work?
According to an independent malware hunter on Twitter, the software does not solve any issues on the computer and neither does it provide the free BTC everybody desires. In fact, it does not do anything to the user’s credentials. Even if there is a warning on the screen after launching it, it is just ransomware designed to frighten victims into giving up their credentials.
However, a recent update turned the software into a Trojan, which was designed to seek and steal login credentials on crypto wallets and any financial related platforms. The software would do this by taking screenshots of the victim’s browsing history and key-loging all of the activity.
Thankfully, not many fell victim to the scam, but there is still some collateral damage. It should already be a given for crypto enthusiasts, that any software, website or person offering free crypto in exchange for something, is nothing but a fraud.
It’s our and every expert’s recommendation to keep your eyes peeled for future scams like this. If you’re not sure whether it’s safe or not, then most likely it isn’t.
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