Crypto Exchange Binance Deals with Phishing Attack

Crytpocurrency exchange Binance was hacked March 7th by third-party software, though the company maintains that all funds remain secure and trading normally.

In a blog post, the Binance team explains that users Bitcoin (BTC) were used to buy Viacoin (VIA) and made small withdrawals without attracting any attention. The earliest recorded phishing attack dates back to early January 2018.

VIA’s numbers spiked during the apex of the hack but have since returned to normal levels.


Source: CoinMarketCap. Click to enlarge.

A key takeaway for investors is that while the attack was happening, the phishing website that redirects users was exposed through dots under the domain name.

Don't get phished guys! See those two dots below "n"? Sometimes the site address gets underlined, so that you can't see the dots. Be very careful!#XVGFam#XVG#Vergefam#xvgwhale#crypto#VergeCoin#Vergecurrency#crypto#altcoins#btc#bitcoin$btc#cryptocurrenciespic.twitter.com/bKq2VrWR7W

— Crypto Lion?? (@TheVergeLion) February 23, 2018

Binance is the top cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume. As an apology, the exchange is giving away 3,000 Ethereum (ETH) coin to its customers.

Despite reversing irregular trades, some investors already withdrew or traded with their profits made thanks to the hack.

Looks like @binance_2017 is sending out mails to people who "benefited" from the hacks yesterday. Since they reversed trades, some people already withdrew or did some other trades with the profits and now Binance has a problem... Wondering if they have any legal ground for this. pic.twitter.com/zj0wqQHBTD

— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) March 8, 2018