The “Impulse Project” Crypto Scam: A New Level of Sophistication and Sprawl

Russian Group Impulse Team Running One of the Largest Crypto Scam Affiliate Campaigns

A recent report by Trend Micro has discovered more than a thousand fraudulent websites traced back to the Russian group, Impulse Team. The team has been running a large crypto scam affiliate campaign that tricked its victims into creating crypto accounts and paying upfront fees in exchange for a cryptocurrency prize that they would never receive. The fraudulent websites have been active since 2016, and analysts have reported that the group’s crypto scam affiliate program, known as the Impulse Project, is a mature and professional operation that offers all necessary tools for starting their own franchise.

Details of Impulse Project’s Crypto Scam Affiliate Program

The researchers at Trend Micro found that Impulse Project was advertising for affiliates on several Russian-speaking cybercriminal forums. They had to pay an undisclosed fee, and a percentage of every fraudulent transaction goes to the masterminds. Affiliates need to set up their domain names and hand them over to the Impulse Team, which configures them with scripts used for CloudFlare services. Each affiliate is given a database for their websites. This provides additional evidence that the affiliates run their own operations separately from each other, connected with the masterminds of Impulse Team. While the total financial impact of the Impulse Team’s operation is not specified in the Trend Micro report, it estimates that the campaign may involve thousands of victims, making it perhaps one of the largest-ever crypto scam campaigns.

The Sophistication of Impulse Project Kept It Hidden

Karl Steinkamp, Director of Delivery Transformation and Automation at Coalfire, highlights that Impulse Project’s selective targets indicate a higher level of sophistication than common cybercriminals. Their focus on fewer but high-value targets makes detection more difficult, thus making their operation continues smoothly. Melissa Bischoping, Director of Endpoint Security Research at Tanium, stated that affiliate programs like Impulse Project need to be flagged for aspiring affiliate scammers and users. Higher volume tactics, techniques, and procedures used among affiliates can aid in detection and prevention. Additionally, education and awareness are an essential piece of the security portfolio for scams that rely on social engineering for success, she added.

Editorial

The Impulse Team’s operation highlights that cybercriminals are behaving more like organizations, adopting affiliate programs to evade tracking and detection. This shows that crypto scams continue to be a profitable income stream for cybercriminals, and efforts must continue to raise awareness of such fraudulent activities among users and entities. Governments must enact proper regulations to ensure the security of the crypto industry and prosecute any form of crypto scams. Cybersecurity firms must adopt more advanced tools and resources to detect, mitigate, and report such threats to protect end-users.

Advice

To stay safe, users have to be vigilant and research before engaging in any activity involving cryptocurrencies or other emerging technologies. They must avoid easily accessible yet compromised public Wi-Fi, maintain strong passwords, and update their security software regularly. Users should also verify the legitimacy of any investment opportunities before handing over their hard-earned money. In general, they should never reveal sensitive information or private keys to third-party services or untrusted platforms.