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Kaspersky Lab: Cryptocurrency scammers now turning to prepaid debit card scams

After the Ponzi scheme scams, selling fake ICOs, investing in shitcoin, cryptocurrency scammers seem to be giving up cryptocurrencies to focus on extortion through prepaid debit cards. According to a report from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, Brazil is in the trend of prepaid debit card scams.

Cryptocurrency scammers have now turned to prepaid card scams

Prepaid card are a scam that takes place on the Internet. The fraudsters will send fake emails, notify recipients of prepaid card purchases in the store, recharge with money, and take pictures of both sides. They will then ask the victim to pay to avoid affecting information about their private life in public. In particular, the majority of victims are Acesso card users in Brazil.

cryptocurrency-scammers-now-turning-to-prepaid-debit-card-scamsSextortion e-mail demanding a ransom in the form of prepaid cards – Source: Kaspersky Lab

Moreover, Acesso cards are sold in Brazil and work with the Mastercard system. Therefore, the money on the Acesso card can be used wherever Mastercard is accepted.

The report stated:

“One of the features of these cards is that they are used not only in Brazil but internationally as well. Perhaps that’s the feature that the cybercriminals in question are particularly interested in.”

Will prepaid debit card scams replace Bitcoin?

However, whether the future trend could lead to a complete loss of interest in using Bitcoin among scammers, remains open to interpretation.

It’s still too early to say whether prepaid debit cards will replace Bitcoin as the newly selected ransom, or whether those messages are an exception rather than a rule.

Meanwhile, crimes involving cryptocurrency are still a significant threat to internet users. In the latest annual summary of new threats, Kaspersky has identified a total of more than 2.2 million targeted devices just by exploiting malware since November 2018.

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