Hamster Kombat players are the latest victims of phishing attacks, with scammers using fake airdrops to steal login credentials and crypto wallet information.
Rising Threats in the Hamster Kombat Community
Scammers and other bad actors prey on Hamster Kombat players in an effort to cash in on the game's massive popularity.
Phishing attempts are being directed towards users of the rapidly expanding mobile game Hamster Kombat, which is hosted on the Telegram platform. In these types of attacks, con artists use psychological manipulation to get their targets to do things that benefit themselves.
Security expert Olga Svistunova said that cybersecurity firm Kaspersky just detected the phishing attacks. While speaking with Cointelegraph, she stated:
“Our team has exposed a series of fraudulent schemes targeting users of the Hamster Kombat. In one scheme, scammers lure victims with promises of converting in-game coins to rubles through phishing links that require Telegram login credentials.”
Credential Theft and Fraudulent Messages
According to Svistunova, after hackers obtain the users' credentials, they are able to successfully launch attacks:
"Once credentials are entered, attackers gain access to personal accounts, enabling them to steal data, blackmail, and send fraudulent messages. This scheme targets victims in Russia but fraudsters from other countries might also start luring victims within the same scenario.”
With 239 million users after just 81 days, Hamster Kombat has quickly become one of the most popular mobile games. The clicker game is attracting four to five million new users per day, according to Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, making it one of the world's fastest-growing digital services.
Scammers attempting to steal cryptocurrency have also begun targeting the popular clicker game by distributing false information about upcoming airdrops.
Cybersecurity Firm Warns of Fake Airdrops
The purpose of the fraudulent Hamster Kombat airdrops, according to Svistunova of Kaspersky Lab, is to obtain users' crypto wallet credentials:
“Scammers exploit the allure of free cryptocurrency by offering fake airdrops of Hamster cryptocurrency, aiming to steal crypto wallet information… Fraudsters also set up phishing sites claiming to sell Hamster cryptocurrency at a discount, deceiving users into providing access to their crypto wallets.”
Following its July 8 pre-market listing on Bybit, the Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) coin has been steadily rising in popularity.
The cybersecurity firm went on to say that con artists are stealing people's Bitcoin through "fraudulent commission payments" and by making phony websites that claim to provide consumers with free coins.