They hacked a digital wallet and emptied dollar accounts of Argentine users - Infobae
Source:
www.infobae.com
Payoneer, a multi-currency tool widely used by freelancers who charge for work from abroad, suffered an attack via SMS messages that affected local users. Movistar published a statement and said it had taken measures
by Matias Barbería
It is suspected that the accounts were compromised through smishing, that is, based on the sending of fraudulent SMS's (DPA).
Dozens of Argentine users of a digital wallet that facilitates money movements between countries were victims of an attack that, in some cases, withdrew several thousand dollars of your accounts. The tool, Payoneer, gained popularity among freelancers who sell services abroad in times of exchange restrictions, since it allows receiving payments in foreign currency without having to settle currencies at the official exchange rate. The attack, apparently based on sending SMS messages, forced Movistar to distribute a statement in which it clarifies that the contents of the messages are unrelated to your responsibility.
The victims organized through the social network Reddit and launched their claims through X, the former Twitter, under the hashtag #PayoneerHacked. The problem has not yet attracted an official response from Payoneer—a company listed on Wall Street—beyond contacts with customer service in which users received security instructions and the promise of a response in the coming days.
According to users who published their cases on social networks and spoke with Infobae through the Discord platform, there are losses ranging from the few thousands of dollars up to USD 60,000.
“On Monday at 6 in the morning I received an email from Payoneer saying that my transfer was on its way. Scared, I ran to the PC and when I opened my account I saw that it was true, there was a transfer to another account, I immediately changed the password but I kept getting SMS confirmation codes," said an artist and illustrator who sells his works to through freelancing platforms.
“Transfers continued to be made so I withdrew some funds as best I could while calling Payoneer. They deactivated my account just in case (late because there was nothing left to withdraw) and well, they gave me the answer they gave to everyone. "That we had to change the account email and wait for the technology area to give answers about the case," he added.
The cause of the hack is unclear. According to the computer security consultant and CEO of BTR Consulting, Gabriel Zurdo, apparently it was a case of smishing .
Some of the SMS that the victims received on their cell phones
“It is a technique that, like phishing, seeks to send fraudulent messages. The difference is that it is done through SMS,” he said.
However, some users claim that it was a major vulnerability in which the attackers accessed the account recovery codes sent by the company.
“In the case of Payoneer there is, in our opinion, a possible interpretation that the SMS could have been sent using the Telefónica network through mailing companies. Apparently, they managed to send SMS with codes to reset the account passwords and access the numbers,” commented Zurdo.
For now, Telefónica's Movistar clarified that although its network was used to send messages, the content of the messages exceeds.
“Movistar became aware through publications on social networks that clients of the Company, who have accounts on the Payoneer platform, had been scammed through the receipt of SMS that, through smishing maneuvers, captured their credentials from the aforementioned platform” , the company said in a statement distributed on the former Twitter.
“In this sense, we inform that Movistar is not responsible for the messages (or their content) that third parties send using its network. Notwithstanding the above, we have taken preventive measures with those numbers from which some clients have reported having received such communications,” the firm concluded.
Payoneer spokespersons sent an official statement to Infobae in which they acknowledged the problems.
“We are aware of recent cases where scammers tricked customers into clicking on links to phishing sites and providing their account credentials. Unfortunately, some customers clicked on these fake links and shared their account login details with the scammers,” they said.
“In addition, we are aware of new forms of fraud that compromise mobile phones and that could also have affected some of our customers. We take fraud prevention very seriously and work closely with regulators, mobile carriers and law enforcement to help combat financial crime and actively educate our customers on how to keep their account secure and protect their information. confidential,” added the text released by the company.
Source:
Hackearon una billetera digital y vaciaron cuentas en dólares de usuarios argentinos
Payoneer, una herramienta multimoneda muy utilizada por freelancers que cobran trabajos desde el exterior, sufrió un ataque a través de mensajes SMS que afectó a usuarios locales. Movistar publicó un comunicado y dijo haber tomado medidas
www.infobae.com
Payoneer, a multi-currency tool widely used by freelancers who charge for work from abroad, suffered an attack via SMS messages that affected local users. Movistar published a statement and said it had taken measures
by Matias Barbería
It is suspected that the accounts were compromised through smishing, that is, based on the sending of fraudulent SMS's (DPA).
Dozens of Argentine users of a digital wallet that facilitates money movements between countries were victims of an attack that, in some cases, withdrew several thousand dollars of your accounts. The tool, Payoneer, gained popularity among freelancers who sell services abroad in times of exchange restrictions, since it allows receiving payments in foreign currency without having to settle currencies at the official exchange rate. The attack, apparently based on sending SMS messages, forced Movistar to distribute a statement in which it clarifies that the contents of the messages are unrelated to your responsibility.
The victims organized through the social network Reddit and launched their claims through X, the former Twitter, under the hashtag #PayoneerHacked. The problem has not yet attracted an official response from Payoneer—a company listed on Wall Street—beyond contacts with customer service in which users received security instructions and the promise of a response in the coming days.
According to users who published their cases on social networks and spoke with Infobae through the Discord platform, there are losses ranging from the few thousands of dollars up to USD 60,000.
“On Monday at 6 in the morning I received an email from Payoneer saying that my transfer was on its way. Scared, I ran to the PC and when I opened my account I saw that it was true, there was a transfer to another account, I immediately changed the password but I kept getting SMS confirmation codes," said an artist and illustrator who sells his works to through freelancing platforms.
“Transfers continued to be made so I withdrew some funds as best I could while calling Payoneer. They deactivated my account just in case (late because there was nothing left to withdraw) and well, they gave me the answer they gave to everyone. "That we had to change the account email and wait for the technology area to give answers about the case," he added.
The cause of the hack is unclear. According to the computer security consultant and CEO of BTR Consulting, Gabriel Zurdo, apparently it was a case of smishing .
Some of the SMS that the victims received on their cell phones
“It is a technique that, like phishing, seeks to send fraudulent messages. The difference is that it is done through SMS,” he said.
However, some users claim that it was a major vulnerability in which the attackers accessed the account recovery codes sent by the company.
“In the case of Payoneer there is, in our opinion, a possible interpretation that the SMS could have been sent using the Telefónica network through mailing companies. Apparently, they managed to send SMS with codes to reset the account passwords and access the numbers,” commented Zurdo.
For now, Telefónica's Movistar clarified that although its network was used to send messages, the content of the messages exceeds.
“Movistar became aware through publications on social networks that clients of the Company, who have accounts on the Payoneer platform, had been scammed through the receipt of SMS that, through smishing maneuvers, captured their credentials from the aforementioned platform” , the company said in a statement distributed on the former Twitter.
“In this sense, we inform that Movistar is not responsible for the messages (or their content) that third parties send using its network. Notwithstanding the above, we have taken preventive measures with those numbers from which some clients have reported having received such communications,” the firm concluded.
Payoneer spokespersons sent an official statement to Infobae in which they acknowledged the problems.
“We are aware of recent cases where scammers tricked customers into clicking on links to phishing sites and providing their account credentials. Unfortunately, some customers clicked on these fake links and shared their account login details with the scammers,” they said.
“In addition, we are aware of new forms of fraud that compromise mobile phones and that could also have affected some of our customers. We take fraud prevention very seriously and work closely with regulators, mobile carriers and law enforcement to help combat financial crime and actively educate our customers on how to keep their account secure and protect their information. confidential,” added the text released by the company.
