Players of the popular game “Hamster Kombat” on Telegram have become targets of phishing attacks, as scammers attempt to capitalize on the game’s popularity.
“Hamster Kombat” has become one of the fastest-growing mobile games, attracting millions of new users every day.
Internet security company Kaspersky recently uncovered these phishing schemes. Security expert Olga Svistunova explained that scammers promise to exchange in-game currency for rubles through fraudulent links that require Telegram login credentials, misleading players. Once users enter their credentials, attackers can access their personal accounts, allowing for data theft, ransom, and the sending of fake messages.
These attacks primarily target Russian players, but there are concerns that fraudsters in other regions may adopt similar strategies.
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, pointed out that the game itself has amassed 8.1 billion users in just 239 days, with 40,000 to 50,000 new players joining every day, making it one of the fastest-growing digital services globally.
Scammers also exploit the game’s popularity by offering fake airdrop activities related to Hamster Kombat, leading to fraudulent links aimed at stealing cryptocurrency wallet credentials. Svistunova from Kaspersky Lab emphasized that these scammers claim to sell Hamster cryptocurrency at a discount to deceive users, with the ultimate goal of obtaining their cryptocurrency wallets.