🎣 Reeled in a big one: A 33-year-old Nigerian man was sentenced to 10 years for a phishing scam that stole $20 million in nest eggs from over 400 U.S. homebuyers. He sent phishing emails to real estate professionals, tricking them into providing their login credentials. Using those, he redirected home purchase payments to compromised accounts and laundered the money into bitcoin via Coinbase, according to the DOJ.
Check your phone! Your bank is the target
I’ve got some urgent news you need to pay attention to. The nefarious Xenomorph Android malware I told you about in February is back in full force — and it’s targeting a whopping 100+ banking and crypto apps. Yeah, that’s just about all the major ones.
The Trojan (like the horse) is now even stealthier. The upgraded Xenomorph is launching a fresh assault on Android users — and there’s a tricky way it’s worming in: Through fake updates.
Get out of here, copycat
Xenomorph uses overlays to make you think you’re logging into your banking or crypto app — then uses details you provided to drain your account. You think everything is fine until you find all your money or crypto wiped out.
How is it spreading? This is interesting. Scammers have a new weapon of choice: Sites that fool you into thinking Chrome needs an update. What you end up downloading is a malicious file loaded with malware.
Guess which apps are in the crosshairs?
- We’re talking major players here like Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Capital One, PNC, Santander, TD Bank and Wells Fargo.
- On the crypto side, Coinbase, Binance and MetaMask aren’t safe.
The cherry on top? The overlays this malware uses to trick you can differ based on your physical location. Not a one-trick pony.
Be on high alert, keep your apps updated, and whatever you do, don’t fall for sketchy Upgrade Chrome messages. Always double-check sources and stick with the official Apple App Store and Google Play Store for downloads.
My words of wisdom: To update your browser, you only need to shut it down and restart. Updates are auto-installed. Don’t trust any site that tells you it’s the place to score the latest version — or tries to convince you that downloading a file is necessary to update your browser.
Stay smart, stay safe and keep those digital shields up! I’ll do my very best to keep you in the loop. Share this critical info you won’t find at the big news sites with someone you care about.
Crypto tip: How to gift digital currency
Cryptocurrency began over a decade ago with the release of Bitcoin. Since then, the number of digital currencies has swelled to the thousands.
Shortly after Bitcoin’s launch, one crypto-mining pioneer built up 7,500 digital coins for next to nothing. He accidentally threw away the hard drive containing the Bitcoin some years later, when the value was in the millions. He is still searching for that hard drive today. Tap or click here for more on the story.
18 years old
The age of Kabosu, the “doge” that inspired a cryptocurrency. The beloved Shiba Inu pup passed away in May 2024, leaving millions of internet fans to mourn her — and, at its peak, a $90 billion dogecoin empire as her legacy. In the aftermath of FTX, the price of dogecoin has fallen nearly 400%, but Kabosu lives on in the big Coinbase in the sky.
Before you scan a random QR code, read this warning
Quick Response codes, or QR codes, can be helpful to direct mobile phone users to a website quickly. You don’t need to remember the URL, as you only need to point your phone’s camera at the uniquely-generated square.
Thousands of crypto accounts drained - Don't make this money mistake
When cryptocurrency came about, few people thought it had any value. Today it’s an integral part of many people’s investing strategies. Crypto like Bitcoin and Etherum have continued to soar in value. Tap or click here for 12 questions you’re too embarrassed to ask about Bitcoin.