- Hackers often use OTP bots as the last phase in their attack.
- The bots have a very high success rate for stealing money from the victims.
Using bots acquired on Telegram, cybercriminals deceive people into handing over their crypto accounts to them. One Time Password (OTP) bots are “remarkably easy to use,” according to research by cybersecurity company Intel471, and are relatively cheap to run compared to the amount that can be generated from a successful assault.
Hackers may get access to a Telegram bot called ‘BloodOTPbot,’ which demands a monthly subscription of $300. An additional $20-$100 may buy more phishing tools that target specific Instagram, Facebook and Twitter profiles. They also come in handy in PayPal, Venmo accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase.
Concern for Institutions and Individual Investors
Hackers often use OTP bots as the last phase in their attack after gathering sensitive data about their victims. OTP bots are particularly dangerous because of this. Hackers utilize the OTP bot to make a phone call that seems to be from an official source while at the same time requesting the user’s crypto platform for a 2FA code. Hackers have quick and complete access to the victim’s account once the user divulges the code.
An “official sounding phone call” and a series of banner alerts on his phone alerted a doctor in Maryland to the fact that his Coinbase account containing Bitcoin “was in peril,” according to a report from CNBC. Maryland-based obstetrician Dr. Anders Agpar was the victim of such an assault.
There has been an increase in the frequency of assaults by OTP bots inflicting large losses for institutions and individual investors. The bots have a very high success rate for stealing money from the victims.
