Hackers use Deepfakes from Binance Exec to scam crypto projects
A recent report from a Binance executive reads more like a technical lingo bingo card than a warning about online stranger danger. Going the usual route of hacking crypto projects was apparently a little too “lo-fi” for some crafty scammers, as the crypto exchange announced that hackers had a hologram deepfake to swindle several crypto projects out of their money.
Binance Communications manager Patrick Hillmann wrote ia blog posts last week that internet fraudsters had used deepfake technology to copy his image during video meetings. He began to catch this trend when he received messages from management of various crypto projects thanking him for meetings he never attended.
Hillman shared one screenshot of messages sent over LinkedIn with a supposed project manager telling the Binance CEO that someone had impersonated his hologram. The communications manager wrote that a team of hackers had used old interviews found online to create a deep fake of him. Hillmann added that “Aside from the 15 pounds I gained during COVID being noticeably absent, this deep fake was sophisticated enough to fool several highly intelligent crypto community members.”
Binance is ranked as one of the largest crypto exchanges by far when comparing trading volumewhich likely makes it a high-value target for scammers looking to extort both crypto users and project managers out of their money.
The executive did not state how many of these crypto projects have been scammed, but apparently there has been a rash of hackers impersonating Binance employees on several social platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Telegram, Hillmann wrote. These fake accounts approach various leaders of upcoming crypto projects and ask them to pay a fee for the honor of having their projects listed on Binance. The problem has become common enough that Binance has one tool to verify if a source actually represents the exchange.
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“Over the past month, I have received several messages online thanking me for taking the time to meet with project teams regarding potential opportunities to list their assets on Binance.com,” Hillmann wrote. “This was strange because I have no oversight or insight into Binance listings, nor had I met any of these people before.”
The fact that these leads targeted not only crypto users but also crypto project teams points to how prolific scams and hacks are in the larger crypto community. The FBI has said that users are regularly being scammed by fake crypto apps, lost about $42 million total in the last year. While some of biggest crypto heist has involved hackers infiltrating web3 networks, typically abusing security flaws found in connected web2 applications, other scams called “rye draft” get users to sign up with false promises before just taking the money and disappearing.
Of course, Binance is not immune to user complaints. Gizmodo’s previous reporting uncovered hundreds of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission against the exchange, many claiming they deposited their crypto into Binance but were restricted from withdrawing it. Others said they were scammed by people pretending to be customer support for Binance, which in previous years did not have a customer support phone number available. The company now has one Support Center which appears as one of the first options in Google search. Part of the problem, of course, is that Binance doesn’t claim some homeland for their headquarters argue that they are “decentralized.” One of their main offices is located in the Cayman Islandsh even the vague designation has come under the microscope in the past.
Still, sophisticated deepfake technology has been a tough nut to crack for many high-profile individuals. Researchers have proven that many online accounts on LinkedIn are AI generated. Law enforcement officials have said that deepfakes are being used more and more apply for external jobs. The best way to distinguish a deepfake from an actual human is to look for any video defects or visual flaws or skin texture that doesn’t seem real. Still, many scammers use low-quality cameras to try to mask any sign that the person behind the camera is a digital image.
