Indo-Asian News ServiceNovember 17, 2018 4:50 PM IST
The microblogging site Twitter has confirmed that a third-party software provider is responsible for the series of cryptocurrency-related hacks on its platform.
A Twitter spokesperson said the attackers exploited a third-party marketing solution to destroy fake Bitcoin gift links from a large number of verified accounts, The next web reported on Friday.
The confirmation comes days after several high-profile figures and public brands, including Elon Musk and Google, breached their accounts to spread malicious cryptocurrency giveaway links. To make the accounts appear legitimate, the scammers used accounts with the Twitter check mark.
In such cases, clicking on any of the scam’s links led users to a page where they were urged to send anywhere between 0.1 and one Bitcoin to the scammers, with the promise that they would receive one. 10 Bitcoins as a reward. The media had reported.
But the victims never received any Bitcoin after sending money to the scammers. The scam is made to appear more trustworthy as other compromised accounts respond to the tweet claiming that it works.
“The confirmation that the hackers originated from a third-party application explains how the attackers managed to execute the Bitcoin gift scam on such a large and organized scale,” the report adds.
