The FBI warns the public about criminals targeting US stock investors through social media platforms and messaging service applications (apps). The scheme, known as a “ramp-and-dump” stock manipulation, targets US investors through online engagement, often via social media advertisements or messages promoting an “investment club” of fellow investors, some of which may be bots or fake accounts.
These promotions typically direct victims to secure messaging apps where the group operates. To appear credible, perpetrators may impersonate legitimate brokerage firms or well-known stock analysts. They secretly control a large volume of a low-priced stock and coordinate efforts to inflate its price (“ramp up”) by encouraging investment club members to purchase shares over a period of several weeks or months. Once the price is artificially elevated, the criminals sell off (“dump”) their shares at a profit, leaving unsuspecting investors with significant losses as the stock value collapses.
Read more…
Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Division
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- CISA and Partners Release Joint Guide to Securing Remote Access Software
June 6, 2023
Today, CISA, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) released the Guide to Securing Remote Access Software. This new joint guide is the result of a collaborative effort to provide an overview of legitimate uses of remote access software, ...
- CISA Releases Two Industrial Control Systems Advisories
June 6, 2023
CISA released two Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on June 6, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS. ICSA-23-157-01 Delta Electronics CNCSoft-B DOPSoft Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog
June 5, 2023
CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2023-33009 Zyxel Multiple Firewalls Buffer Overflow Vulnerability Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Russia says US intelligence hacked thousands of iPhones
June 2, 2023
Russia has accused United States intelligence agencies of hacking thousands of iPhones belonging to Russian users and foreign diplomats in the country. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that it had discovered an “intelligence action” that had compromised the phones of Russians as well as diplomats from Israel, Syria, China and NATO members. Read more… Source: ...
- Progress Software Releases Security Advisory for MOVEit Transfer
June 1, 2023
Progress Software has released a security advisory for a SQL injection vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362) in MOVEit Transfer—a Managed File Transfer Software. A cyber threat actor could exploit this vulnerability to take over an affected system. CISA urgers users and organizations to review the MOVEit Transfer Advisory. Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- North Korea Using Social Engineering to Enable Hacking of Think Tanks, Academia, and Media
June 1, 2023
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of State, and the National Security Agency (NSA), together with the Republic of Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), National Police Agency (NPA), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), are jointly issuing this advisory to highlight the use of social engineering by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ...