Watch Out for an OTP Scam

One-time password bots are in use by criminals who are looking to steal cryptocurrency from unsuspecting holders. Recently, a bot known as “BloodOTPbot” has been on sale for $300, and it has become a simple way for hackers and scammers to target PayPal ($PYPL@US), Venmo, and Coinbase ($COIN@US) accounts. According to reporting from the cybersecurity firm, Intel471, there has been an uptick in cybercrime activities, specifically calling the victim posing as a bank and asking for an OTP or verification code. Another bot known as SMSRanger can do most of the work for hackers, and it is said to be 80% effective in perpetrating these scams. Notably, a Coinbase user lost access to an account with more than $100,000 in Bitcoin after one of these scams. Moreover, these bots are attacking Apple ($AAPL@US) App Store users, as well. In 2021 alone, crypto scammers stole nearly $8 billion in so-called “rug pulls” and other scams.