Scammers Target Super Bowl LVI Viewers with Cryptocurrency Giveaway Scam

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Scammers Target Super Bowl LVI Viewers with Cryptocurrency Giveaway Scam

Key insights

  • Scammers launched ads on social media targeting Super Bowl LVI viewers with a cryptocurrency giveaway scam.
  • TRM Labs’ analysis indicates the scammers collected over $10,000 in combined Bitcoin and Ethereum from victims with accounts held at a U.S.-based exchange.

Last night the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI by staging a late fourth quarter comeback. While the Rams grabbed their second Super Bowl franchise win, millions of viewers experienced cryptocurrency-related advertisements on a major platform for the first time. Unfortunately, scammers sought to take advantage of this.

How the scheme worked

Capitalizing on pre-game hype around crypto commercials set to run during the Super Bowl, scammers prepared a phishing website that fraudulently posed as the website of a legitimate US-based exchange running Super Bowl promotions. The scammers advertised this phishing website on social media, promoting a countdown clock claiming a giveaway amounting to 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC) and 20,000 Ethereum (ETH).

Figure: Scammer advertises fraudulent Super Bowl cryptocurrency giveaway.

TRM Labs’ analysis determined that by late on the evening of the 13th, the scam had netted over $10,000 USD worth of BTC and ETH. At the time of this post, the scammers have yet to move any of the scammed funds.

TRM Graph: Cross-chain analysis shows BTC and ETH deposits.

TRM will continue to monitor the stolen funds and provide updates to our customers and partners, including exposure to wallets linked to the scam. Questions? [email protected].

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