The Wolf Den #652 - You Are The Phish
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In This Issue:
You Are The Phish
Bitcoin Thoughts And Analysis
Legacy Markets
Wyre Limits Withdrawals
Airdrops and Bankruptcies - A Case Study
GOP Repeals IRS Funding
You Are The Phish
In poker, the term "fish" is used to describe a player who is weak or inexperienced compared to the other players on the table. Their style of play is often referred to as "fishy." "Sharks" - skilled players - look to exploit their decision-making for their own gain. A good poker player manages the exploitation of both themselves and their opponents in order to turn a profit.
Cryptocurrency, like poker, is also a game with real-life consequences. In this case, the "sharks" are criminals and the "fish" are everyday users. Criminals often target these inexperienced users through phishing scams, which are designed to trick victims into giving up their personal information for profit.
According to The Rug Pull Report 2022, "some two million people fell prey to 200,000 crypto scams globally between September 2020 and December 1, 2022," but these statistics are often overshadowed by major exploits like Ronin, Wormhole, Nomad, and Harmony.
Here is some practical advice on how to protect yourself from phishing scams, based on findings from SlowMist, a top-tier blockchain security firm founded in 2018 that specializes in all things Web3 and crypto. SlowMist recently released their 2022 end-of-year report, titled "2022 Annual Blockchain Security And AML Analysis Report," which includes their top five phishing methods to be aware of.
Dangers on Discord
Bookmark managers, a feature in modern browsers that allow us to easily access our favorite websites, can be exploited if malicious JavaScript code is bookmarked on Discord. When the victim accesses the infected Discord account, their personal login information can be sent directly to the scammer. Your account can even be used against you by anyone you regularly interact with. Be careful what you bookmark.
Zero Dollar Purchases
This method involves a scam in which a user is tricked into signing over their NFT (non-fungible token) for no payment. A fake sales order may be created that appears legitimate, but when signed by the seller, it actually authorizes the scammer to purchase the NFT on OpenSea for a price of their choosing - which will always be zero. To protect yourself, be extra cautious in who and how you sell NFTs off the market.
The Redline Stealer
The Redline Stealer is a malicious trojan sold on the dark web that is designed to steal users' credentials. It can be disguised in any way that a scammer chooses, but is often disguised as a new game or program that a "programmer" wants you to try out. Once installed, it searches for specific file names on your computer (such as "key," "crypto," or "wallet") and sends the information to the scammer. Advanced versions of this trojan can even execute commands. To protect yourself, never be the first to download a file in a private group - let someone else be the guinea pig.
The Blank Check Method
Similar to the "Zero Dollar Purchases" method, the ETH_Sign_Method involves a scam in which a victim is tricked into signing a malicious message that includes a "claim" button for an airdrop or free NFT. This can compromise the victim's private keys, which can then be used against them. This method is well-disguised, as once the scammer has obtained your address, they can send very discreet signature requests tailored to your habits. This method is most often used on MetaMask, so always take warning messages seriously.
$0 Transfer Harassment
Targeted users of this scam may begin to notice numerous transfers from an unknown address in their transfer history. These transfers are always for $0 and spam the transaction history of the victim, causing chaos and confusion in an attempt to induce a mistake. After the victim is bombarded with these transfers, the spammer may even begin to airdrop fractional amounts of a stablecoin from a similar address to the victim's address, hoping that the victim will accidentally copy the wrong address, which may only be different by a single character.
As you can see, even the smallest mistakes can have serious consequences. Therefore, it's important to double and triple-check everything you are signing, downloading, and clicking on, especially if you are not 100% sure of its legitimacy.
The worst part is that every time a phishing scam is defeated, a new one is designed that is even more clever and effective at separating people from their money. It's the constantly evolving nature of these tactics that makes them so difficult to report on and combat, but it's all the more reason why we must continue to speak out against them.
Stay safe out there - someone is always looking to take what you have.
Bitcoin Thoughts And Analysis
WEEKLY CHART
This is a quick reminder that the weekly chart still has confirmed bullish divergence coming out of oversold RSI. This is very rare. RSI is also looking for a breakout of descending resistance, which usually precedes a price break out.
We need to see where it closes the week.
DAILY CHART
Same as yesterday. Bitcoin continues to show a bit of strength, holding above the 50 MA which is beginning to curl up. We want to see that hold as support, but really want to see $17,592 convincingly broken and tested as support.
Legacy Markets
Key events this week:
US wholesale inventories, Tuesday
Fed Chair Jerome Powell among speakers at Riksbank symposium in Stockholm, Tuesday
World Bank expected to release global economic prospects report, Tuesday
ECB Governing Council members speak at Euromoney conference in Vienna, Wednesday
US CPI, initial jobless claims, Thursday
St Louis Fed President James Bullard at Wisconsin Bankers Association virtual event, Thursday
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin speaks at VBA/VA Chamber, Thursday
China trade, Friday
US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo report earnings, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% as of 8:28 a.m. New York time
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.7%
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.8%
The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
The euro was little changed at $1.0720
The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2137
The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 132.29 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $17,239.2
Ether rose 0.7% to $1,327.89
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 3.59%
Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.28%
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 3.58%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $74.99 a barrel
Gold futures were little changed
Wyre Limits Withdrawals
California-based crypto payment channel Wyre is feeling the effects of the contagion and has decided (or been forced) to limit withdrawals for its users. According to the official statement, "customers will continue to be able to withdraw their funds, but at this time, we are limiting withdrawals to no more than 90% of the funds currently in each customer account, subject to current daily limits."
This means that users can have some of their money back, but not all of it. Additionally, within a 24-hour period, users can now only withdraw a maximum of 5 BTC and 50 ETH, and the daily transaction limit is $1,500,000 and €1,400,000. It's worth noting that rumors of insolvency or a shutdown started just two days ago and now this news has been announced. It seems that no one is safe.
Airdrops and Bankruptcies - A Case Study
The highly anticipated and long-awaited Flare airdrop started yesterday, but some interesting and unexpected issues have arisen. Anyone who held XRP at the time of the airdrop is entitled to FLR tokens, but it seems that the platforms intended to distribute the token have gone bankrupt. FTX, Celsius, and Voyager are all in a unique situation, with each claiming ownership rights to the coins. There's also a separate issue with Nexo users, who were approved as an airdrop exchange, but are now phasing out of operations in the U.S. Here is a statement from the Flare Network Medium:
“The teams at FTX, Celsius, and Voyager have been contacted in order to discuss how best to handle the token distribution. The ideal situation would be if they are able to provide their customer’s addresses to Flare, so Flare can airdrop them directly. However, these matters are never simple because bankruptcy processes are very convoluted and take a lot of time to be resolved. This is why it is generally considered safer to self-custody your crypto in a wallet like Bifrost Wallet, Ledger, Trezor or D’Cent.”
GOP Repeals IRS Funding
In last year's "Inflation Reduction Act," there was an inclusion of decade-long IRS funding amounting to $80 billion and 87,000 agents. As promised by the GOP in their first bill, the "Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act" has zeroed out the new funding for the IRS. The bill is only a page long and only rescinds the balances designated for the IRS. If this excites you, it is worth noting that the bill likely has little chance of passing in the Senate or receiving approval on President Biden's desk.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own and should in no way be interpreted as financial advice. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision. I am not a financial advisor. Nothing contained in this e-mail constitutes or shall be construed as an offering of financial instruments or as investment advice or recommendations of an investment strategy or whether or not to "Buy," "Sell," or "Hold" an investment.
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