• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

DoNot APT is expanding scope targeting European foreign ministries

 | 

Nippon Steel Solutions suffered a data breach following a zero-day attack

 | 

Iranian group Pay2Key.I2P ramps Up ransomware attacks against Israel and US with incentives for affiliates

 | 

Hackers weaponize Shellter red teaming tool to spread infostealers

 | 

Microsoft Patch Tuesday security updates for July 2025 fixed a zero-day

 | 

Italian police arrested a Chinese national suspected of cyberespionage on a U.S. warrant

 | 

U.S. CISA adds MRLG, PHPMailer, Rails Ruby on Rails, and Synacor Zimbra Collaboration Suite flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

IT Worker arrested for selling access in $100M PIX cyber heist

 | 

New Batavia spyware targets Russian industrial enterprises

 | 

Taiwan flags security risks in popular Chinese apps after official probe

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Google Chromium V8 flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Hunters International ransomware gang shuts down and offers free decryption keys to all victims

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 52

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 531 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

North Korea-linked threat actors spread macOS NimDoor malware via fake Zoom updates

 | 

Critical Sudo bugs expose major Linux distros to local Root exploits

 | 

Google fined $314M for misusing idle Android users' data

 | 

A flaw in Catwatchful spyware exposed logins of +62,000 users

 | 

China-linked group Houken hit French organizations using zero-days

 | 

Cybercriminals Target Brazil: 248,725 Exposed in CIEE One Data Breach

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Cyber Crime
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Personal data of thousands of users from the UK, Australia, South Africa, the US, Singapore exposed in bitcoin scam

Personal data of thousands of users from the UK, Australia, South Africa, the US, Singapore exposed in bitcoin scam

Pierluigi Paganini June 30, 2020

Group-IB discovered thousands of personal records of users from multiple countries exposed in a targeted multi-stage bitcoin scam.

Group-IB, a global threat hunting and intelligence company headquartered in Singapore, has discovered thousands of personal records of users from the UK, Australia, South Africa, the US, Singapore, Spain, Malaysia and other countries exposed in a targeted multi-stage bitcoin scam. Victim’s phone numbers, which in most cases came with names and emails, were contained in personalized URLs used to redirect people to websites posing as local news outlets with fabricated comments of prominent local personalities about cryptocurrency investment platform that “helped them build a fortune”. The source of the leak has not been established yet. The information has been provided to relevant authorities in the affected countries.  

A joint investigation of Group-IB’s Threat Intelligence and Brand Protection teams revealed 248,926 sets of personally identifiable information exposed in what turned to be a complex three-stage fraud designed to drag people into a shady bitcoin investment scheme.

The analysis of the exposed phone country codes showed that most of the victims were from the UK (147,610), followed by Australia (82,263), South Africa (4,149), the US (4,147), Singapore (3,499), Malaysia (2,491), Spain (2,420), and other countries. 

The new scheme is similar to the “Bitcoin Evolution” scam, that Group-IB reported on in Feb. 2020, with one big difference – this time a massive amount of victim’s sensitive info was exposed. Group-IB’s team was able to identify all the stages of the fraud from its entry point to the last phase. 

First, a victim receives a text message. Group-IB specialists managed to retrieve 4 samples of SMS. Scammers sometimes send out phishing messages using the name of a recognized media outlet as the sender.

Every message contained a unique short link. Further analysis of the URLs revealed that a short link takes a victim to another URL which already demonstrates their personal data, such as the phone number, first or/and last name, and sometimes an email address, and used for redirects to fake websites masquerading as a local media outlet. Group-IB researchers have run the exposed info through data breach repositories and have analyzed several underground marketplaces for the presence of this data but have not found any traces of the exposed info. The experts believe that the personal information info could have been obtained by fraudsters through a separate fraudulent scheme or simply bought from a third party.  

The content a user would see often depends on their location. For example, users from the UK would be demonstrated a website disguised as the Sun or the Mirror, the Australians would likely see a fake ABC Australia website. However, all the websites feature similar made-up interviews and fabricated comments attributed to local celebrities whose names were hijacked by the scammers: Bryan Wong, Chris Brown, Andrew Forrest, Travers ‘Candyman’ Beynon, Gina Rinehart, and others. All these fake articles allege that famous people made a fortune thanks to the new cryptocurrency investment platform. All the fake pages discovered are almost identical in terms of design, but the URL and the page code are unique every time and contain users’ personal records. If a victim decides to click any link in the article, they are taken to a bitcoin investment platform website, where their data, contained in the URL, would already be pre-filled in the registration form without a user’s consent. Later a victim would be asked to add to their account balance in BTC. 

Group-IB researchers spotted 6 active domains featuring the same bitcoin investment platform that operates under different names: Crypto Cash, Bitcoin Rejoin, Bitcoin Supreme, and Banking on Blockchain. Group-IB has shared its findings with the relevant organizations in the affected countries for further investigation. 

“The bitcoin investment scams have been around for quite a while and we regularly detect new instances of crypto fraud, says Ilya Sachkov, CEO of Group‑IB. “This time however the scheme was significantly upgraded, and a tremendous amount of personal information was leaked. The bad guys got smarter in a bid to increase the success rate of their fraudulent operations. Using personal data allows them to carry out targeted attacks and make a victim’s journey easier and smoother, which levels up the overall effectiveness of the scheme. In general, many people tend to underestimate the risks of their names, phones or emails circulating online until bad things happen. In fact, such a huge amount of sensitive data in the wrong hands opens up a whole new world of opportunities for fraudsters. This data can be sold further, or they can push a new round of fraud.”

Group-IB urges online users to stay vigilant. A couple of simple rules: If you spot a long redirect chain, it’s a red flag. Always double-check the domain name, website registration date when entering personal information or payment data. The Singapore government has also launched the Do Not Call registry under the PDPA for consumers who do not wish to receive telemarketing messages via phone call, SMS or fax.

However, regular users are not the only ones who suffer here. Media brands and celebrities whose names were hijacked by fraudsters suffer reputational damage. According to market researchers, nearly 64% of users who have faced brand abuse online will never return to that brand — their trust in it has been undermined. For celebrities, these cases can cause significant loss in the audience’s trust which affects the sustainability of business relationships with their advertisers. Complete visibility of the scheme is the key to eradicate this type of fraud. Media and celebrity names are mentioned on separate stages of the scheme and blocking them will not have an effect. Just like with the Rabbit Hole fraud, the crooks can quickly rebuild the blocked parts and continue their fraudulent operations. Effective monitoring and blockage should involve the automated machine-learning powered brand protection system fueled by the regularly updated knowledge base about cybercriminals’ infrastructure, tactics, and tools.

About Group-IB

Group-IB is a Singapore-based provider of solutions aimed at detection and prevention of cyberattacks, online fraud, IP protection and high-profile cyber investigations.

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, bitcoin scam)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Bitcoin scam Cybercrime frauds Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 10, 2025
DoNot APT is expanding scope targeting European foreign ministries
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 09, 2025
Nippon Steel Solutions suffered a data breach following a zero-day attack
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    DoNot APT is expanding scope targeting European foreign ministries

    APT / July 10, 2025

    Nippon Steel Solutions suffered a data breach following a zero-day attack

    Data Breach / July 09, 2025

    Iranian group Pay2Key.I2P ramps Up ransomware attacks against Israel and US with incentives for affiliates

    Malware / July 09, 2025

    Hackers weaponize Shellter red teaming tool to spread infostealers

    Malware / July 09, 2025

    Microsoft Patch Tuesday security updates for July 2025 fixed a zero-day

    Security / July 08, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT