Electrum isn’t having the best year, as the denial-of-service (DoS) attack that’s currently affecting it has hit more than 152,000 infected hosts. To top off this miserable start to the year, scammers have found a way to spoof notifications telling users to upgrade their client to Electrum 4.0.0. However, in the field for “Official Website” is a fake Electrum web address. Eagle-eyed Electrum users managed to spot the phishing scam and have reported it to Electrum, but it could very well have thrown a number of users off and forced them to the website.
Version 3.3.6 is Available
To stop the scam popup from catching you out, you can head over to the official Electrum website and download the new version 3.3.6. Before you install, make sure you verify the GPG signature – it’s very important if you like keeping your crypto safe. This should help get rid of the popup and prevent it from showing in the future – you’re welcome.
Watch Out for False Positives
On Electrum version 3.3.3 we saw Windows throw up false positives for a trojan virus in the files. However, it turns out the file flagged was added using a new compiler. The issue has since been rectified from Electrum’s end, but it still did a lot of damage to the community in terms of trust. Issues like this need to stop popping up, otherwise Electrum users could get fed up and go elsewhere for their crypto wallet needs.
Not Electrum’s First Phishing Rodeo
Fortunately, the Electrum community is used to Phishing scams and this isn’t its first rodeo. Back in December 2018, a phishing scam hit a number of users whereby they willingly gave away their seed phrases to scammers. The scam saw around 240 Bitcoin leave their wallets, leaving many dumbfounded as to how it happened. As always, make sure you’re verifying your install files and triple checking the domain name to be accurate – hand type it, don’t autofill.
Electrum is no stranger to the world of scams and hacks, but it sure knows how to bounce back well. No doubt, after this latest phishing scam is all cleaned up, we will see a few months of quiet from the crypto wallet before a new type of scam or attack is plaguing it. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you’re one of the most popular products on the market – everyone wants to steal from your users.
