Cybersecurity company, Trend Micro, has released a report exposing the activities of The Impulse Team, a cybercrime group specializing in cryptocurrency fraud. According to researchers, the group, which has been active since 2018, operates primarily in Russia and the CIS countries.
The group’s modus operandi involves creating fake websites and applications for trading cryptocurrencies. These are presented to potential victims as legitimate platforms. Social networks, spam, and other channels are then used to advertise the fake sites, and victims are lured into making deposits in cryptocurrency. The funds are then transferred to the wallets of the attackers.
Trend Micro discovered the fake sites for the Impulse Project, advertised on several Russian-speaking criminal forums. Prospective affiliates wishing to join the project must contact The Impulse Team and subscribe to the service.
In a related development, Trend Micro also reported that one of the attackers created hundreds of accounts on social networks. The attack leveraged Mastodon users, who create accounts at any instance and are free to interact with others at any other instance, making the social network more open and flexible than traditional social networks.
The full report, which details The Impulse Team’s fraudulent activities, can be accessed through Trend Micro’s website.