Adding to the growing wave of thefts, scams and rug pulls in the crypto world, is a new trend of Telegram scams.
According to reports, scammers have allegedly begun trying to steal crypto by impersonating Venture Capital Executives on the social networking platform. These scam incidents have become so rampant that the FBI become fully involved and has its agents looking into the matter.
Here are the details:
This new wave of Telegram scams has seen bad actors distributing phishing links and virus-loaded software while pretending to be real venture capital investors on Telegram.
They approach victims with promises of lucrative investments, only to lure them into downloading harmful software.
According to Alexandre Masmejean, CEO of Showtime in a recent tweet, he was contacted by FBI agents from the Los Angeles department.
Masmejean said that he was advised by the agents to make sure that his digital assets and personal information were secure.
They asked him to turn off his WiFi, rotate his wallets, change all passwords, transfer files to a hard drive, and wipe his compromised MacBook clean.
These requests from the FBI agents shocked Masmejean, who immediately went ahead to verify their identities.
It was only after doing this, that the Showtime CEO realized that his personal details, as well as his Macbook, were deeply compromised.
There are currently no reports of anything being stolen from Masmejean yet.
However, his MacBook was found to have been compromised after a hacker clicked on a video link sent to him by a scammer pretending to be Chao Deng, the Head of HashKey Singapore Group.
Masmejean also kept most of his crypto in hardware wallets, making it significantly harder for the scammer to steal anything of value.
This recent incident only highlights the value of safe practices when buying, keeping and storing crypto.
Members of the crypto community are also advised to be on high alert, and to be wary of any unsolicited messages or links sent to them out of the blue.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.