What is social engineering?
Social engineering is a tactic where scammers manipulate human psychology to steal information or assets. They will often pose as trusted figures, using platforms like WhatsApp as mentioned to create a sense of urgency or build trust.
A famous example in the crypto space is the 2020 X hack, where attackers compromised a number of high-profile accounts, including those of Elon Musk and Bill Gates, to promote a Bitcoin scam.
The attackers gained access to Twitter's internal tools by targeting employees with a phone spear-phishing attack. Once inside, they took control of 130 accounts, tweeting a fake message promising to double any Bitcoin sent to a specific address.
This scam ultimately resulted in over $100,000 (USD) in Bitcoin being sent to the attackers' wallet within a few hours.
How Do WhatsApp Phishing Scams Work?
As the crypto and social media landscape expands, so do the tactics of malicious actors aiming to exploit unsuspecting individuals. WhatsApp is one of the most popular methods of contact for millions around the globe, making it vulnerable to being used by scammers.
Here’s how a phishing scam on WhatsApp would typically look:
