How to recognize scams like Exodus Restore Wallet phishing scam?

What is Exodus Restore Wallet scam?

Scammers have created a fake Exodus page to trick unsuspecting users into providing their 12-word phrase. Their goal is to obtain information that could be used to steal Exodus cryptocurrency wallets. Exodus is a legitimate cryptocurrency wallet that has nothing to do with this scam.

Exodus Restore Wallet scam in detail

This scam website is virtually identical to the official Exodus website - exodus[.]com. The GIF image below shows that the fake Exodus page has a different URL address. It requests to restore a wallet using the 12-word phrase. Scams like this one are used to hijack crypto wallets to drain funds.

Threat Summary:

Name	Exodus Restore Wallet phishing scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Exodus users need to restore their wallets with a 12-word phrase
Disguise	Legitimate Exodus website
Related Domain	txn--exdus-vta[.]co
Detection Names	Avira (Phishing), CRDF (Malicious), Fortinet (Phishing), Lionic (Phishing), Sophos (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Trust Wallet cannot be accessed.
Distribution methods	Phishing emails, compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of Trust Wallet accounts, cryptocurrency loss.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing emails in general

A couple of examples of similar scams are "Trust Wallet Scam" and "Solflare Scam". Typically, these scam pages are very similar or identical to the real ones. It is important to check the URL address to make sure that the opened page is legitimate. Crypto scams are promoted through, shady ads, pages, potentially unwanted apps (PUAs).

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs are distributed through advertisements, fake installers, downloaders/installers for other programs. Advertisements used to distribute before-mentioned apps can download or install them by running certain scripts.

Ads download or install PUAs when users click on them. Downloaders or installers bundled with PUAs have settings that can be used to prevent unwanted downloads, installations. Typically, PUAs can be deselected in "Advanced", "Custom", or other settings that downloaders or installers used to distribute them have.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Use only legitimate/official pages as sources for downloading software, files. Do not trust advertisements that appear on shady web pages, for example, adult dating sites, pages related to gambling. Always check downloaders and installers for unwanted apps and deselect them before downloading or installing programs.

If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of Exodus Restore Wallet scam page (GIF):

Screenshot of another website promoting Exodus Restore Wallet scam:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is Exodus Restore Wallet phishing scam?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

It probably happened because your email is in a database that scammers use to spread their scams. These emails are never personal.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If you have entered your 12-word phrase on a fake Exodus page, contact Exodus customer support immediately and follow their instructions.

Is it possible to infect a computer through an email received from cybercriminals?

Yes, emails used to deliver malware contain malicious links or attachments. Computer infections are caused by executing malicious files.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove almost all known malware infections. The operating system should be scanned using a full scan since malware can hide deep in the system.

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