Google’s online advertising platform, Google Ads, has unwittingly become a conduit for malicious actors promoting fraudulent crypto websites, putting users at risk of falling victim to phishing scams.
According to a report from BleepingComputer, threat actors have exploited Google Ads to promote a counterfeit version of Whales Market, an over-the-counter (OTC) crypto platform known for facilitating airdropped token trading.
The rogue advertisement masquerading as Whales Market appears as a sponsored link at the top of Google search results, luring unsuspecting users into clicking on it.
Once users interact with the ad, they are redirected to a fraudulent domain, [www. whaels. market], instead of the legitimate [www.whales.market].
The attackers have registered multiple deceptive domains mimicking Whales Market, including an inactive one, [www.whaless.market].
The counterfeit website mirrors the interface of the authentic Whales Market, tricking users into connecting their digital wallets. Subsequently, malicious scripts siphon off victims’ crypto holdings from their wallets.
This incident is part of a troubling trend where scammers exploit Google’s platform to propagate fraudulent schemes.
In response to such threats, Google has taken legal action against crypto scammers. Earlier this month, the company filed a lawsuit against two individuals from China, Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung, for leveraging the Google Play store to promote fake crypto investments.
Though the lawsuit didn’t specify the names of the implicated applications, Google disclosed deactivating 87 fraudulent apps associated with Sun and Cheung over four years. These apps collectively amassed nearly 100,000 downloads worldwide.
Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, emphasized the significance of combatting crypto schemes, citing over a billion dollars of cryptocurrency fraud and scams in the U.S. in 2023 alone. The lawsuit aims for a permanent injunction against the defendants and seeks damages exceeding $75,000 to cover investigation costs and ensure platform security.
Meanwhile, Google recently introduced a feature enabling users to search for wallet balances on various blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Fantom.