Donald Trump’s Campaign Site Hit with a Monero Scam

With days left before the 2020 US Election, the Presidential race is heating up to a boiling point. There’s so much at stake for both candidates and their voters, with both Trump and Biden sharing their views on all sorts of subjects, including finance. The two rivals haven’t been very vocal on the subject of cryptocurrencies, but cryptos have somehow made their way into the election conversation.

The story from two days ago is that President Trump’s campaign website ended up hacked for a brief period, with the cybercriminals trying to cash in on a cryptocurrency scam.

The fake FBI notice said to have gained access to Trump’s private messages that contained evidence of the President’s wrongdoings involving the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the 2020 Presidential Election. According to the New York Times article on this, the defacement lasted less than half an hour.

Crypto Scam With Two Monero Addresses

The cybercriminals that hacked President Trump’s campaign website stated, in broken English, that they have evidence of his wrongdoings. They claimed to have evidence about Trump’s involvements in creation of the coronavirus. The hackers also claimed to have poof of his involvement with foreign powers intending to manipulate the election.

The hackers asked the site visitors to decide whether the alleged evidence is going to be released. Those who wanted the “proof” to be revealed were supposed to send their money to one Monero address. Those who wanted to keep it secret were asked to send the money to another address.

Luckily, the scammers didn’t have too much time on their hands. The site was back with its real information after less than 30 minutes. Still, it remains unknown whether someone has actually sent over some money to the hackers. And it seems it will remain unknown because Monero transfers are practically impossible to track.

Crypto Scammers Seem to Love Monero

Monero is considered the most secure cryptocurrency in the world. The fact that the IRS is offering a $650,000 reward to the person who can crack this crypto tells a story about Monero’s security. The trouble is that security-conscious users are not the only ones impressed with this coin. The same goes for cybercriminals.

Since it was created in 2014, Monero has become a favorite of hackers, tax-dodgers, and drug dealers on the Dark Web. Its reputation in the criminal universe has tarnished Monero’s reputation in the world of law-abiding citizens. Even though a majority of Monero users are using the crypto for legal and legitimate purposes, the coin is getting a bad rep.

Nevertheless, its value has been constantly increasing. Although there are some oscillations on a daily basis, the fact is that the price of one XMR has doubled in one year’s time. At the time of writing, its price is $125.64. This time last year, it was around $60.30.