must Read: JOB Seekers Beware of fraudulent offers conceal Dangerous crypto malware
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Crypto Malware Disguised as Job Listings Is Preying on Job Seekers. Job seekers are being targeted by a sinister scheme, with fake listings installing hidden cryptocurrency mining malware that silently hijacks systems and drains resources.
Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike has revealed details of a phishing scheme in a blog post published Tuesday, outlining how attackers manipulate the firm’s hiring procedures to distribute cryptocurrency mining malware.
The attackers deploy fraudulent recruitment emails and a deceptive website to lure victims. These unsuspecting individuals are instructed to download a bogus “employee CRM application,” which instead installs the XMRig cryptominer, a tool that surreptitiously uses the infected system to mine Monero cryptocurrency. The company explained:
A newly discovered phishing campaign uses Crowdstrike recruitment branding to convince victims to download a fake application, which serves as a downloader for the XMRig cryptominer.
This scheme initiates with emails falsely claiming to originate from Crowdstrike’s recruitment department. These messages direct recipients to a phony website mimicking a legitimate employment platform. The website offers downloads compatible with Windows and macOS, but regardless of the selection, a Windows-specific malware executable is delivered.
Upon execution, the malware undergoes multiple verification steps to evade detection by security mechanisms. If these checks succeed, the malware fetches and deploys XMRig, utilizing the system’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency for the attackers. Designed to operate stealthily, the cryptominer limits its resource usage to avoid raising suspicion while gradually impairing the system’s performance over time.
Crowdstrike further discussed the malware’s mechanisms for persistence. The software installs itself within critical system directories and deploys scripts ensuring it reactivates each time the system restarts.
To combat such tactics, the company has urged job seekers to validate all recruitment communications through official channels. It also clarified.#jobs
must read: DOGE ’extremely quiet’ social chatter could be an opportunity: Analyst Dogecoin crowd sentiment is at a low point, which could point to a buying opportunity before the crypto market starts moving higher again, according to Santiment.
A decline in social media posts and overall sentiment around Dogecoin could signal a buying opportunity for traders, according to crypto analysis firm Santiment.
“Crowd sentiment has been near its lowest point over the past year,” Santiment said in a Jan. 9 report.
The analysis firm gave Dogecoin DOGE tickers down $0.3396 a “bearish” crowd sentiment rating of 1 out of 5, which is significantly lower than the 4 out of 5 ratings for XRP XRP tickers down $2.35 and Solana SOL tickers down
Bitcoin investor ordered to hand over crypto keys in landmark tax case A Texas federal court judge ordered Frank Richard Ahlgren III and any associates to hand over any crypto public and private keys, accounts and access codes.
An early Texas Bitcoin investor was ordered to surrender his crypto and other wallet private keys and access codes as part of a restraining order after being sentenced in December to two years in prison for tax fraud.
Frank Richard Ahlgren III, who falsely underreported capital gains on over $3.7 million in Bitcoin BTC$95,294 sales between 2017 and 2019, owes the US government about $1.1 million in restitution.
Austin Federal Court Judge Robert Pitman on Jan. 6 ordered Ahlgren and any of his family, friends or representatives to identify and provide any physical devices used to store his cryptocurrency, along with any public keys, private keys, seed phrases or passphrases.
Bitcoin BTC tickers down $101,649 punched through $100,000 at the Jan. 6 Wall Street open as bulls cleared liquidity for a return to six figures.
Bitcoin Price, Markets, Market Analysis.
BTC price needs daily close above $101,000 Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a snap spike taking BTC/USD to nearly $101,506 on Bitstamp.
Bitcoin thus began the first full TradFi trading week of 2025 at its highest levels since Dec. 19.
The move followed a fresh buy announcement from business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, which added another 1,070 BTC to its corporate treasury.
Among the casualties was what popular trader Skew described as a “passive seller” on Binance, the owner of significant ask liquidity at the $100,000 mark.
“New bids moving up here which is important for the support of rallies,” he reported in part of his latest analysis on X. #BTCUSDTAnalysis
Bitcoin ETFs roar back with second day of $900M+ inflows
While the spot Bitcoin ETFs smashed industry expectations in 2024, the products finished poorly with outflows in six of the last eight trading days.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States alone scooped up almost three times the nearly 14,000 coins produced by miners during the month.
December 2024 was a huge month for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, which accumulated a total of around 51,500 BTC, according to data averaged from Apollo and BiTBO.
Momentum was driven by spot markets, with the asset reaching an all-time high of $108,135 on Dec. 17, according to CoinGecko.
Meanwhile, only 13,850 coins were added to the circulating supply in the month, according to Blockchain.com — meaning Bitcoin demand from ETFs alone was approximately 272% more than the amount supplied.#Bitcoin ETF