Ross Ulbricht’s followers and others donating to his cause are being targeted by scammers using phishing attacks on social media, especially Telegram. The scammers are capitalizing on the public support that the pardoned Silk Road founder is getting, with his supporters and the general public donating to the cause.
The phishing attacks, initiated by criminals, have been targeting unsuspecting users, trying to steal the funds meant to be donated to Ross Ulbricht.
Ross Ulbricht was released from federal prison on Tuesday following a presidential pardon from United States President Donald Trump. Trump signed the executive order effecting his release on January 21, granting him a full and unconditional pardon. Before the pardon, Ulbricht had been serving two consecutive life sentences plus a 40-year sentence without parole since 2015. He was charged as the owner of Silk Road, a platform notorious for facilitating illegal activities, using Bitcoin to facilitate transactions.
Scammers target Ross Ulbricht’s donors with phishing attacks
After Ulbricht was released from prison, well-wishers and supporters started donating to support the Silk Road founder, a development that has now been hijacked by scammers. The scammers took advantage of the excitement of his release, spreading their links across microblogging platform X and Telegram. For instance, an account, which has since been removed, shared a link in the replies. The account, claiming to be connected to a Telegram channel for updates, had the post liked 317 times before it was removed.
Before the account was removed by the moderators on the X platform, it was spotted by the account of the cybersecurity foundation platform VX-Underground, which alerted and warned users about the link. The alert told the users that the link would lead to malware being installed on people’s devices. The account highlighted that the real Ross Ulbricht account was being spammed, urging users to desist from clicking any link. “When you try to view the ‘official’ Ross Ulbricht Telegram channel it asks to verify your identity, and it gives free malware!” the account added.
Experts warn about phishing actors as Ulbricht begins recovery process
Telegram has third-party verification , which allow users to verify the legitimacy of contacts and channels, so users don’t fall for scams. However, scammers do not need the users to go to Telegram to confirm their authenticity, as they just need them to click on their links and follow the instructions. According to reports, the link leads to a fake verification screen to deceive users. The scammers created a mini app on Telegram to carry out their crimes, using it to deceive victims into executing the malicious program.
Experts have also warned the market about the rampant cases of exploits and phishing attacks related to high-profile celebrity names. In this case, the hackers banked on the emotional response tied to the Ulbricht case, using it to carry out their agenda.
In another case, scammers used AI-generated images of popular actor Brad Pitt to scam a French woman out of $850,000. According to cybersecurity firm SubRosa CEO John Price, celebrity-themed malware is the perfect way to carry out a social engineering attack. “Cybercriminals leverage well-known figures because they capitalize on two fundamental aspects of human psychology: trust and curiosity,” he added.
According to Price, people like Ross Ulbricht are popular and easily recognizable, with some people even seeing him as a cult figure, due to his early association and support for Bitcoin. If a token from someone like that were to spring up, users would click any link to purchase it without knowing they have clicked and downloaded malware on their devices.
“This tactic works particularly well on social media, where users are accustomed to casual and rapid interactions, often bypassing critical scrutiny,” he added. It remains unclear how many people or systems were compromised, but Price mentioned that the consequences sometimes go beyond personal losses.
Meanwhile, Ross Ulbricht has returned to his family, starting his readjustment to life outside prison walls. He mentioned in a recent statement that he was going to spend time with his family, noting that he will probably take time away from the public and even social media. “I’m going to be with my family so that we can reunite, be whole again, and heal,” he added. However, he noted that in due time, he will return to talk, with it likely be his experiences inside the prison walls.
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