Arbitrum Discord hacker shares phishing announcement amid airdrop hype

The crypto community’s warning against fake Arbitrum (ARB) airdrops materialized as hackers managed to drop a phishing link into Arbitrum’s official Discord server. 

On March 25, blockchain-focused security firm CetriK revealed the possibility of a phishing link being circulated via the Arbitrum Discord server. It is suspected that a hacked Discord account of one of Arbitrum’s developers was used to share a fake announcement with a phishing link.

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) March 25, 2023

The phishing message on Discord offered “the opportunity to re-claim an additional stake in Arbitrum DAO Governance” while citing issues during the initial token claim drive. However, the supporting URL misspelled Arbitrum as “Arbtirum” — a deception technique used in a phishing attack.

Clicking on such phishing usually navigates the unsuspecting victims to a fake website prompting them to enter personal information such as a wallet’s private key.

However, further investigation from Cointelegraph shows that clicking on Arbitrum’s phishing link takes users to a blank website with the text “Astaghfirullah,” which translates to “I seek forgiveness in God.” In modern times, it can also be used as an expression of disbelief or disapproval, according to Wiktionary.

Until further clarification from Arbitrum, investors are advised against interacting with the announcement. As hackers try to cash in on the hype, investors must be hypervigilant around unrealistic claims and deceptoins.

Arbitrum has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Related: Arbitrum airdrop sells off at listing, but traders remain bullish on ARB

Two airdrop hunters managed to bag approximately $3.3 million worth of Arbitrum’s ARB tokens in total.

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 24, 2023

As Cointelegraph reported, one wallet received $2 million in ARB, while another collected around $1.38 million worth of tokens.

Magazine: $3M OKX airdrop, 1-hour due diligence on 3AC, Binance AI — Asia Express