Avoid being scammed by the "Double Your ETHEREUM" emails/website
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is the "Double Your ETHEREUM" scam email?
The "Double Your ETHEREUM email scam" refers to a spam campaign, a large-scale operation during which thousands of deceptive emails are sent. The scam messages distributed through this campaign claim recipients can double their Ethereum cryptocurrency investments.
Note that these emails are scams - users will not receive any cryptocurrency returns and only lose the sums they transfer to the scam.
The "Double Your ETHEREUM" scam messages promote a deceptive website, which promises to double the ETH (Ethereum) cryptocurrency users invest into it. The fake giveaway web page states that, by transferring Ethereum to the provided cryptocurrency wallet address, users will receive twice the sum back.
The smallest investment is 0.5 ETH, the largest - 100 ETH. These sums are equivalent to approximately US$800 and US$177,000 (USD) at the current exchange rate (note, exchange rates fluctuate).
The scam site also provides steps about how users can participate in the giveaway.
As mentioned, the claims made by the "Double Your ETHEREUM" scam emails/website are false. Therefore, by trusting this scheme, users can experience significant financial loss.
| Name | Double Your ETHEREUM Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Emails claim recipients can double the Ethereum cryptocurrency they invest through the promoted website. |
| Related Domains | ether2x[.]net |
| Detection Names (ether2x[.]net) | Sophos (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Serving IP Address (ether2x[.]net) | 172.67.170.65 |
| Symptoms | Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains. |
| Damage | Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft. |
| Malware Removal (Windows) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
"Double Your BTC" is an example of a spam campaign that is virtually identical to "Double Your ETHEREUM", whilst "MOBI GRAND TELECOM Lottery", "U.S Army Special Operations Command Consignment", and "Australian online award promo" are campaigns using the fake prize/offer scam model.
Many websites are similar to the page promoted by "Double Your ETHEREUM" emails. For example, "Generate Bitcoin", "Doge Giveaway", "BTC giveaway", etc. Spam mail is not used exclusively for scams and phishing, it is employed to distribute trojans, ransomware, and other malware as well.
The sole purpose of these deceptive emails is to generate revenue for the scammers/cyber criminals behind them. Due to the prevalence of scam messages, exercise caution with incoming emails.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Ransomware and other malware infections are commonly spread through malspam campaigns, untrusted file/software download sources, fake (third party) software updating tools, Trojans and unofficial software activation tools.
Using malspam, criminals send emails that have a malicious file attached, or include a website link designed to download a malicious file. Their main goal is to trick recipients into executing the file, which then infects the computer with malware. Cyber criminals usually attach a Microsoft Office document, archive file (ZIP, RAR), PDF document, executable file (.exe) or JavaScript file, and wait until recipients open it.
Note that malicious MS Office documents can install malware only when users enable editing/content (macros commands). If the documents are opened with MS Office versions prior to 2010, however, the documents install malicious software automatically, since these older versions do not include "Protected View" mode.
Examples of untrusted file and software download sources are Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients), free file hosting websites, freeware download sites, and unofficial web pages. These are used to distribute malicious files by disguising them as legitimate and regular. When users download and open (execute) the files, however, they inadvertently install malware.
Fake software updating tools cause damage by installing malware rather than updates/fixes for installed software, or by exploiting bugs/flaws of outdated software. Trojans are malicious programs that can cause chain infections by installing other software of this kind. Note that malware can only be distributed in this way if Trojans are already installed on computers.
Unofficial activation ('cracking') tools are illegal programs that supposedly activate licensed software free of charge and bypass activation, however, they often install other malicious programs instead.
How to avoid installation of malware
Do not trust irrelevant emails that have files attached (or contain website links) and are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. Software should not be downloaded or installed through third party downloaders, installers, unofficial pages or other similar sources/tools.
Use only official websites and direct links. Installed software should never be updated or activated with third party, unofficial tools, since they can install malware. Furthermore, it is illegal to use third party tools to activate licensed software.
The only legitimate way to update and activate software is to use tools and functions that are provided by the official developers. Regularly scan your computer with reputable antivirus or anti-spyware software and keep this software up to date.
If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Double Your ETHEREUM" email message:
Subject: ********: DoubleBTC.WIN - Double your ETHEREUM in 24 hours
Dit is een aanvraag via ******** van:
Austinwaf ;
DoubleBTC.WIN - Double your ETHEREUM in 24 hours -
Double your ETHEREUM in 24 hours equals to 100% profit a day that equals to 36,500% annual interest.
Click to : hxxps://ether2x.net
Appearance of the scam website (ether2x[.]net) promoted through the "Double Your ETHEREUM" spam campaign (GIF):
Text presented in this page:
Ethereum (ETH) Giveaway, Join Now To Get 2x (Double) Bonus
To verify your Ethereum address, just send from 0.5 to 100 ETH to the generated address below and get from 1 to 200 ETH sent back to the address you sent ETH from or the one you specified below, you will get double of what you send to the giveaway address.
In this event, participant will get 2x(double) of whatever they send to the giveaway address instantly which can be traded on any exchange
How To Participate:
Step1: Make sure you have at least 0.5 ETH or above in your wallet.
Step2: Enter the amount you wish to invest below.
Step3: Enter the ETH address you want to receive the bonus with
Step4: Click the "Proceed" button to generate the payment address.
Step5: Send the amount you entered to the generated address.
Step6: Wait for at least 4 - 8 minutes.
The 2x bonus will be sent to the address you entered or the one you sent the ETH from.
Amount: 0
Bonus: 0
Address: Enter your ETH address
[Proceed]
BINANCE UPBIT OKEX
REMITANO MERCATOX INDER COIN
COINS.PH COINBASE YOBIT
WAITING FOR PAYMENT
Sometimes transactions are not sent properly. Try sending it again. Remember, every transaction we receive gets their ETH back + giveaway prize.
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Quick menu:
- What is Double Your ETHEREUM spam?
- Types of malicious emails.
- How to spot a malicious email?
- What to do if you fell for an email scam?
Types of malicious emails:
Phishing Emails
Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.
Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.
After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.
Emails with Malicious Attachments
Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.
In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.
If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.
While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.
Sextortion Emails
This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.
To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.
How to spot a malicious email?
While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:
- Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
- Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
- Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
- Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.
To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
Example of a spam email:
What to do if you fell for an email scam?
- If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
- If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
- If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
- If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
- Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.
Outstanding!
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