The fake version of the Tor browser steals bitcoins by changing the address of the BTC wallet

In the Russian segment of the Internet, a fake version of the popular Tor browser has started. Users who want anonymity and access to prohibited resources become victims of scammers and lose bitcoins .

Fake Tor hunts for your bitcoins

A fake program was discovered by ESET, a company specializing in cybersecurity. According to preliminary data, through fake Tor, they have already managed to steal bitcoins by more than $ 40,000.

The principle of operation is as follows: a person downloads a fake version of the browser from unidentified sources, after which it redirects to a new page. There it is written in Russian that your version of the browser is outdated and needs to be updated. This happens even if you supposedly downloaded the latest version.

By clicking on the refresh button, the user is transferred to a new page where a fake update is available for download. As a result, a person becomes a potential victim of hackers, and if he pays for any goods and services through Tor, the virus changes the address of the real recipient to a scam wallet. Thus, those who want to take advantage of illegal "charms" on the darknet themselves become victims of criminals.

How to distinguish fake TOR from the present?

The most dangerous thing here is that a fake browser is almost impossible to distinguish from the real one. Such tricks by fraudsters are quite rare, but theft of cryptocurrency is not a new phenomenon. Advertising fake Tor mainly occurs through accounts in Pastebin, and about half a million people saw advertising records there. Given this, there may be many more victims over time: many will never know that they are using fake software.

How to protect yourself? It's simple – you can delete the version of the browser that you are currently using and download a new one from the official site. Otherwise, there is almost no way to determine if you have become a potential victim of hackers.

Publication date 10/19/2019
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