Cryptocurrency-related phishing attacks averted by Kaspersky’s systems increased by 40% compared to the previous year. That is about 5 million attacks the cybersecurity solutions company has prevented.

The decrease in threats to financial services may be caused by the shift in cryptocurrency attacks.

Cryptocurrency phishing rose significantly and was included as a separate category, demonstrating 40% year-on-year growth with 5,040,520 detections of crypto phishing in 2022 compared to 3,596,437 in 2021. 

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“This increase in crypto phishing could be partially explained by the havoc on the crypto market that occurred last year,” Kaspersky said in a statement. “However, it is still unclear whether the trend will continue, which will depend on the trust that users place in cryptocurrency.”

This data correlates with users’ experiences with cryptocurrency threats explored by Kaspersky earlier this year — every seventh person surveyed was affected by cryptocurrency phishing.

Slight dip

In Southeast Asia (SEA), Kaspersky has monitored a slight dip in 2022 overall. The global cybersecurity company observed 64,080 crypto phishing in the region last year, 15% lower than 2021’s number.

“Southeast Asia is home to diverse countries and continue to lead globally in terms of cryptocurrency adoption,” Chris Connell, managing director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, said in a statement. “With the highly active play-to-earn gamers plus the remittance usage of cryptocurrency in countries with high overseas workers, we expect to see more adopters in the region. This makes it essential to develop that protection-first mind set against attacks related to this useful technology.” 

The drop in crypto phishing is mainly detected in Singapore (-74%), Thailand (-51), and Vietnam (-15%). This type of threat, however, continues to grow in the Philippines (170%), Indonesia (+26%), and Malaysia (4%).

Crypo scams

Scammers now have moved on from the usual giveaway scams or fake wallet phishing pages to an urgent call to withdraw a lot of crypts from an account the victim allegedly registered. The letter sent in .PDF file, as expectec contains the link to a fake mining platform. The victim is asked to provide personal detailslink to a fake mining platform, to withdraw the crypto. The victims is also asked to pay a commission.

To maximize the benefits of using cryptocurrency safely, Kaspersky experts also recommend:

• Be cautious of phishing scams: Scammers often use phishing emails or fake websites to trick people into revealing their login credentials or private keys. Always double-check the URL of the website and don’t click on any suspicious links.
• Don’t share your private keys: your private keys unlock your cryptocurrency wallet. Keep them private and never share them with anyone.
• Educate yourself: stay informed about the latest cyber threats and best practices to keep your cryptocurrency safe. The more you know about protecting yourself, the better equipped you’ll be to prevent cyber-attacks.
• Research before investing: Before investing in any cryptocurrency, research the project and the team behind it thoroughly. Check the project’s website, white paper, and social media channels to ensure that the project is legitimate.
• Use security solutions: a reliable security solution will protect your devices from various types of threats.  Kaspersky Premium prevents all known and unknown cryptocurrency fraud, as well as unauthorized use of your computer’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency.