MetaMask Sounds The Alarm: Hacker Impersonates Namecheap In Phishing Scam

MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet provider, recently informed its users of the ongoing fraudulent activities by a Namecheap hacker, instructing them to be careful.

Namecheap is a web hosting company that offers its clients various hosting services. The company provides services to both corporate and individual website owners, including small and large-scale businesses. A few of its hosting plans are virtual private servers, shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, and dedicated servers.

In a recent development, NameCheap discovered the mismanagement of one of its third-party services through its crucial security features, such as SSL certificates, advanced firewalls, etc. In addition, it reported that this server was sending unauthorized emails targeted at MetaMask investors.

MetaMask Warns Its Users Of Ongoing Fraudulent Activities

According to the Namecheap web hosting company, a hacker compromised one of its several third-party services. The sources said that hackers used this service to send unauthorized emails to certain users of MetaMask. The main idea behind the move is to access investors’ private information to claim their crypto possessions.

The hacker sent an email to investors informing them to complete their KYC verification as quickly as possible. It added that failure to perform the instruction would lead to the suspension of their accounts. The attacker also attached a marketing link to the email from NameCheap.

The hacker included a link that redirects investors to a clone MetaMask website that requests the users’ secret recovery phrase, claiming to protect the wallet.

Meanwhile, MetaMask reminded its users that it does not perform KYC (Know Your Customer) verification process, adding that it doesn’t contact users via emails regarding account information.

The wallet provider also encouraged users to exercise caution and to be vigilant in protecting their assets. It advised users to enable two-factor authentication on their accounts to add an extra layer of security.

Namecheap Services Remain Intact

The web-hosting company, Namecheap, has announced that its services remain intact, given that the hacker could not access any customer’s account. The company also noted that it acted fast to tackle the incident. In addition, it cited that the mailing system started functioning as usual within the first two hours following the initial incident.

Namecheap also cited that it has stopped the fraudulent mailing and communicated with its upstream provider to ensure that they’ve fixed the issue from that end and avoid reoccurrence.

Notwithstanding, the firm is still investigating the issue regarding the unauthorized mailing action. It advises users to recheck their email addresses, points of contact when handling matters with Namecheap and MetaMask, and website links.

This event is a reminder of the importance of being vigilant and cautious when using cryptocurrency and decentralized applications. The crypto industry has recorded several occurrences, like stealing NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) and digital currencies using Google Ad services.

Feature Image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView.