Cryptocurrency users are urged to exercise extreme caution as a prominent industry leader warns of a potential new wave of crypto airdrop scam emails. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, raised concerns about a data breach allegedly affecting a widely used email list management provider for crypto firms. Arduino alerted his 234,000 followers in a June 5 X post:
“We received now 2 independent confirmations that a prominent vendor used by crypto companies to manage mailing lists might have been compromised.”
While Tether’s CEO has not disclosed the name of the breached company, he promised more details after the completion of the investigation.
“Not making names yet until investigation is completed, but please beware of any emails suggesting crypto-airdrops received since 24 hours ago.”
Hakan Unal, a senior blockchain scientist at Cyvers, a firm specializing in on-chain security, advises users to verify email authenticity and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on crypto platforms.
“The immediate concern is the risk posed to individuals who might receive these compromised emails. To stay safe, users should verify the authenticity of such emails and enable multifactor authentication on all crypto accounts.”
Confirmation of Breach and Precautionary Measures
Minutes after Ardoino’s initial warning, the airdrop scam attack was confirmed by a third company, CoinGecko, a cryptocurrency tracking site. The breach has impacted a crypto email newsletter vendor used by multiple companies, according to Bobby Ong, Co-founder and COO of CoinGecko. Ong issued a warning to users, advising them not to click on any links related to a fraudulent CoinGecko token, nor any emails promising new token launches. Ong’s cautionary message, shared on June 5, stated:
“We at CoinGecko may be potentially affected and are actively working with our vendor to investigate further to determine the extent of this breach. We have seen phishing CoinGecko emails being sent from other client accounts. There is no CoinGecko token being planned so don’t be duped by the phishing emails.”
Ong warned users not to click on any links related to a fraudulent CoinGecko token — which is not being planned — nor any emails promising new token launches.
Escalating Concerns and Rising Losses
Crypto scams and hacks continue to pose significant risks to the cryptocurrency industry. Recent data revealed a staggering loss of over $574 million worth of digital assets across 30 individual crypto hacks during May 2024.
PeckShield reported this alarming statistic in a June 1 X post, indicating an approximate month-over-month increase of 666% from the $385 million lost to crypto hacks in April. As such, heightened vigilance and robust security measures are imperative for safeguarding assets in the volatile crypto landscape.
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