Tether CEO cautions about upcoming wave of fraudulent crypto airdrop emails CoinGecko at risk

Update as of June 5, 12:00 pm UTC: This post has been revised to incorporate statements from Cyvers.
A word of caution to all cryptocurrency users, as a leading figure in the industry issues a warning about a potential surge in fraudulent crypto airdrop emails.
It has been reported that a popular email list management service used widely by crypto companies has allegedly fallen victim to a data breach, as per Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether.
Ardoino issued a warning to his 234,000 followers in a recent post on June 5, without disclosing the name of the compromised entity, but assuring more information once the investigation is concluded:
Cointelegraph has reached out to Tether for a statement.
To protect against phishing attempts, users are advised to verify the legitimacy of any emails and ensure that they have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled on their crypto platforms, according to Hakan Unal, a senior blockchain scientist at the on-chain security firm Cyvers. He shared with Cointelegraph:
In a quick succession, following Ardoino’s initial alert, a separate entity, cryptocurrency tracking website CoinGecko, confirmed the breach.
According to Bobby Ong, the co-founder and COO of CoinGecko, the breach impacted a provider of crypto email newsletters used by multiple companies. Ong’s warning to users on June 5 reads as follows:
Ong cautioned users against clicking on any links related to a bogus CoinGecko token, which is not in the works, or falling for emails promising new token launches.
The issue of crypto scams and hacks remains a significant concern within the industry.
As per a post by PeckShield on June 1, a total of over $574 million in digital assets was lost in 30 separate crypto hacks during the month of May 2024.
This marked a staggering 666% increase from the $385 million lost to crypto hacks in April.
Image:
Crypto hacks in May 2024. Source: PeckShield
The month of May saw a rise in fraudulent activity, with scams and hacks taking a toll on the cryptocurrency market.
There is ongoing scrutiny over the prevalence of such incidents within the industry, as the need for heightened security measures becomes increasingly apparent.