Description

A threat actor known as markopolo has been identified behind a large-scale scam targeting digital currency users on social media with information-stealing malware. The attack uses a fake virtual meeting software named Vortax, among 23 other apps, to deliver Rhadamanthys, StealC, and Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS), according to Recorded Future's Insikt Group. This campaign, primarily targeting cryptocurrency users, highlights a significant rise in macOS security threats and features a network of malicious applications. To legitimize Vortax, the actors maintain a Medium blog with AI-generated articles and a verified X (formerly Twitter) account. Victims download the booby-trapped application by providing a RoomID on the Vortax website, redirecting them to a Dropbox link or external site that installs the malware. Markopolo uses shared hosting and C2 infrastructure, enabling quick pivoting to new scams as needed. Crypto researcher ZachXBT reported that an individual lost $245,000 after downloading Vortax, with the stolen funds moved through intermediary addresses to exchanges. This emphasizes the pervasive threat of infostealer malware, especially in light of similar campaigns targeting Snowflake. Additionally, Enea revealed that SMS scammers abuse cloud storage services like Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage to host phishing websites. These URLs, distributed via text messages, appear authentic and bypass firewall restrictions, redirecting users to phishing pages that steal personal and financial information. The use of legitimate cloud storage domains makes detection challenging, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by such scams.