Cyber Thieves Are Harvesting Bitcoin With Low-Cost Software

Cyber thieves are using a low-cost software to ‘’harvest’’ bitcoin and other altcoins from the wallets all around the world as the security experts found in the latest reports we have in our Bitcoin scam news.

According to a report from the cybersecurity specialist ESET, a low-cost software or a piece of malware named Casbaneiro or Metamorpho is claiming a few victims in areas with large Portuguese or the Spanish-speaking populations including Brazil, Peru, Argentina, and Mexico but also the United States and Spain. ESET says that this malware is a typical Latin American banking Trojan that aims the banks and crypto services by using social engineering tactics and fake pop-up windows that lures victims into entering the new passwords and login details. The company says that there are four different strains of Casbaneiro that have been detected and have been in circulation since 2018 and all four share almost the same code.

The malware is being distributed through emails with links and attachments and once the code reaches the computers, it is able to collect the information antivirus software and OS version information and more. The malware provides hackers with backdoor access for emails and messenger applications such as Telegram. The company claimed for the crypto news:

 “[Casbaneiro] can take screenshots and send them to its server, simulate mouse and keyboard actions and capture keystrokes, download and install updates to itself, restrict access to various websites, and download and execute other executables.”

The company states that the Casbaneiro malware family is related to the Amavaldo another Trojan which targets Latin American online banking and cryptocurrency customers. The cyber thieves also use the on-going cyber-crime campaign named MasterMana Botnet which also targets the cryptocurrency wallets and the company stated that the campaign was first detected in December in 2018. Most importantly, the report claims that the cost to ‘’ deploy and maintain and the campaign was mostly nonexistent.’’ The previous versions included the Revenge Rat software and this Trojan is available online for free on multiple websites which brings the campaign operation price down to about $60. The company described the malware as ‘’old but still highly effective.’’