Israeli cyber defense firm Perception Point recently uncovered a plot that scammed over $55 million from Mexican individuals.Perception Point is also an OurCrowd portfolio company that has raised capital four times on the platform starting in 2019 with the last funding round finished in 2022. In total, Perception Point has raised $3.7 million on OurCrowd.According to Perception Point, a Phishing ploy scammed both individuals and businesses in Mexico out of their money in a scam that commenced in 2021.
The hack was labeled “Manipulated Caiman” and started like many Phishing traps where an attachment is sent via an email. Once clicked, the malware is downloaded onto the individual’s computer providing access to the machine. If someone outside of Mexico clicked on the document, the user was forwarded to a legitimate site, and no malware was downloaded in a geofenced operation. If a user submitted bank account information, access was given to the criminals, who could then steal the money. The infected machine also acts as a vector to spread the malware.
Perception Point reports that there were more than 4000 victims. The company also points out the lax approach to cybercrime in Mexico, which may be why the scam continued for so long.
Perception Point does not share if a perpetrator has been identified, but they do provide a technical analysis available here.
This article first appeared in Crowdfund Insider, written by JD Alois on July 23, 2023.
