Leading exchanges Binance and Kraken have successfully repelled sophisticated social engineering attacks that recently compromised Coinbase, one of their major competitors. This is according to sources familiar with the situation. Still, representatives from Kraken and Binance have yet to confirm or speak about the matter. Hackers tried bribing Binance staff to steal customer information Scammers allegedly targeted Binance, offering bribes to the platform’s customer service staff, and even included a Telegram handle for further communication with the staff. Luckily, the exchange uses artificial intelligence bots to detect possible bribe offers in multiple languages and halt those conversations. Like most other exchanges, only specific representatives can access customer information during customer-initiated calls. Last year, in December, a number of rival exchanges noticed the social engineering attacks on Coinbase and warned the exchange’s team. According to people familiar with the matter, at least one exchange alerted the Coinbase’s security team through Telegram multiple times. However, Coinbase has yet to comment on whether other exchanges reached out to them. Despite reported warnings, hackers managed to bribe some customer service employees, convincing them to steal customer data, including names, dates of birth, addresses, nationalities, and other banking details. The hackers then asked for $20 million from the exchange to delete the information they received. Coinbase claimed it started seeing suspicious activity from their representatives as early as January. The information they stole could easily be used to impersonate the exchange, draw in unsuspecting users, or impersonate the victims with other service providers and gain access to their accounts. Mike Dudas, the managing partner of the web3 firm 6MV, even commented, “It’s a major breach; the amount of personal information shared is staggering. It will make people have to consider their personal physical security, especially with the things happening in France and elsewhere.” DOJ charged 12 people with money laundering and RICO conspiracy Social engineering attacks on crypto exchanges have increased for the last two years. Attackers have taken to buying users’ information and using malware to acquire information on the dark web. Hackers tried to call some Binance users in Israel, baiting them to move their funds into a new wallet they managed. The Department of Justice also recently just indicted 12 people for allegedly taking part in an international cyber racketeering operation that brought in more than $263 million. The 12 defendants are facing charges of RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. The associates reportedly used the stolen digital assets to buy nightclub services ranging up to $500,000 per evening, luxury handbags, extravagant watches valued between $100,000 and $500,000, and rental homes in Los Angeles, Hamptons, and Miami. They also rented private jets, hired a team of private security guards, and bought at least 28 exotic cars for about $100,000 to $3.8 million. The DOJ claimed they laundered the stolen funds through several mixers and exchanges through peel chains, pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks. Among the 12 is Malone Lam, who also stole about 4100 BTC in August 2024 and about $14 million in crypto in July of that same year. Malone and his associates were also involved in home break-ins. In one instance, Marlon Ferro, one of the enterprise members, broke into a home in New Mexico to take a hardware digital asset wallet while Lam kept tabs on the victim’s location. Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More
