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- Deribit warns of scammers posing as recruiters targeting crypto professionals.
- Fake job offers are used to install malware or steal funds and data.
- Verify recruiters through official channels to avoid crypto job scams.
Deribit cryptocurrency exchange has flagged a growing scam where fraudsters pose as recruiters to trick job seekers, especially targeting developers and senior professionals in the crypto sector.
In a March 19 post on X, Deribit’s chief information security officer, Anthony Sweeney, disclosed “a surge in scammers posing as recruiters claiming to work for Deribit.” He emphasized that such fraudulent schemes often emerge in the crypto space before expanding to other industries.
As Deribit stated, Scammers use fake accounts on the social platform LinkedIn and introduce themselves as talent hunters of the exchange. They advertise for high-paying position vacancies and directly converse with the candidates to earn their trust. After forming a relationship, they use different techniques to manipulate their targets.
One such test is given to candidates to fill out online surveys, which, in reality, download malicious software on the device. Sometimes, scammers create fake job offers with special supposedly pre-employment benefits like reduced cost of stocks in the company and proceed to take the victim’s money. They are made to look like legit ones, which makes it difficult to identify them.
In more serious cases, scammers schedule face-to-face appointments for contract signing and tell candidates to bring their work laptops. This step also increases concerns over how these scams try to gain access to the company’s information, which is quite astonishing.
Crypto Job Scam Risks
Deribit has encouraged job seekers to be awake while verifying whether the recruiting companies are fake or real. This is within the context of increasing instances of scams involving the use of cryptocurrencies that have been witness in the market. Back in January, a company called CrowdStrike discovered another new phishing campaign that disguised its emails as recruitment offers to spread Monero cryptocurrency mining malware.
CrowdStrike pointed out the fact that the scam used fake employment opportunities to lure the targets to download an application that ingests the XMRig on their devices. The scam emails appears to have been sent from the company’s HR department, directing the target individuals to follow a link to a fake portal to fill out an employee survey and download an “employee CRM application.”
With the development of the new crypto business, there are always risks of complex scams. Deribit’s warning must be heeded by organizations, employers, and, most importantly, job seekers, particularly in their job applications. Thus, people should remain aware of such offers and check them formally to avoid becoming the victims of the sophistication of these scams.
