The frenzying popularity of Telegram’s Hamster Kombat game is drawing unsavory attention from scammers looking to exploit the game’s fanbase. Kaspersky, a cybersecurity firm, recently reported a slew of phishing attacks and fraudulent airdrops aimed at unsuspecting Hamster Kombat gamers. As the case with many phishing attacks, these ones trick victims into performing actions beneficial to the attacker.
Olga Svistunova, security expert at Kaspersky, revealed that one of the stratagems scammers use involves enticing players with bogus promises of converting in-game coins into real money, using a phishing link requiring the gamer’s Telegram login credentials. Once duped, the attackers gain access to personal accounts, facilitating data theft, blackmail, and fraudulent message transmission.
Hamster Kombat, enjoying massive popularity with daily influxes of 4-5 million new players, is also being attacked with spurious crypto airdrops leading to fraudulent links. These faux airdrops, warns Svistunova, aim to steal crypto wallet credentials from Hamster Kombat gamers. Furthermore, scams including fake websites offering free coins to steal cryptocurrency through ‘fraudulent commission payments’ have been detected.
Unfortunately, cyber-crimes continue to pose a grave threat to the blossoming crypto industry. From the first crypto hack registered in 2011, the sector has seen nearly $19 billion in digital asset thefts, resulting from over 785 reported hacks and exploits. Furthermore, the growth of novel blockchains has seen a surge in phishing attacks, with Base’s phishing crimes, for example, rising by a staggering 1,900% in March, versus January.