Celer Bridge Appears Ad Phishing Scam On Google Causing Users To Lose $900,000

Key Points:

• Scam Sniffer cautions against rising Google search phishing as victims fall for malicious ads on fake Celer websites, losing millions.
• Fraudulent ads display legitimate project domains but lead to phishing sites, stealing assets upon interaction.
• Terra also faced phishing threats, emphasizing the need for user education and heightened security.

On August 23, Scam Sniffer, a prominent anti-fraud platform in the Web3 community, issued a cautionary advisory regarding a new wave of Google search advertising phishing. The alert follows a disheartening incident where a victim suffered a staggering loss of $900,000 due to a malicious Celer Bridge advertisement.

The modus operandi of this scam is particularly insidious. When users search on Google, the seemingly authentic domain associated with the project is displayed within the advertisement. However, once clicked, the link redirects to a phishing website, facilitating a devastating breach of trust and security.

The repercussions are dire for those who inadvertently fall prey to this scheme. Upon connection to a cryptocurrency wallet, the fraudulent ad initiates malicious signatures to pilfer assets. Subsequent asset signature approval leads to immediate theft, leaving victims reeling from the loss.

Phishing, a cybercriminal tactic that involves masquerading as legitimate entities, continues to target crypto enthusiasts. These scams exploit victims’ trust, coercing them into surrendering private keys or personal information. The stolen data is then exploited to drain cryptocurrency holdings.

Notably, in a similar vein, last year, Celer grappled with phishing-related concerns. Following a DNS poisoning attack that cost users $240,000, the platform urged users to revoke approvals for suspect contracts.

Although a portion of users encountered malicious smart contracts during bridge usage, the protocol’s core remained unaffected.

In an unrelated incident, Terra, a Layer 1 blockchain, encountered a weekend breach that enabled hackers to orchestrate phishing attacks on visitors. Hackers exploited compromised access to prompt users to connect online or hardware wallets, emphasizing vigilance regarding the terra(dot)money domain.

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