Cybersecurity experts at TrendMicro have identified one of the latter, pointing out its dangers. The scheme involves sending a fake Trust Wallet invoice, through PayPal, to an extensive email list.
But it’s not just a fake invoice. It’s a counterfeit document that is almost a perfect replica of a real Trust Wallet invoice. Check out the two scam examples below.
Both invoices are fake but both look real. The one on the right might be particularly convincing because it looks like it was sent from a PayPal email address.
How did they manage to do that? The cybersecurity experts at TrendMicro say it’s relatively simple. The scammers created a PayPal seller account called “Trust Wallet” – that is in no way affiliated with the legitimate company Trust Wallet – and sent people these invoices in the hope that they will pay them without question.
Trust Wallet is an app used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. People who don’t trade in crypto are less likely to bite on the scam because frankly they probably have never heard of the company.
But the millions of crypto traders who get the email could easily think it was something they overlooked and pay it without giving it much thought. If they do, the money goes straight into the scammer’s pocket with no way to get it back.
If you get one of these emails you can report it to PayPal’s resolution center here.