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By Shaurya Malwa|Edited by Parikshit Mishra
Jun 23, 2025, 5:27 a.m.
- Cointelegraph’s website was compromised by a front-end exploit, leading to a malicious pop-up offering fake ‘CoinTelegraph ICO Airdrops’ and ‘CTG tokens.’
- The fraudulent banner urged users to connect their crypto wallets, falsely promising $5,500 in tokens, and cited a bogus CertiK audit to appear legitimate.
- Cointelegraph warned users not to click on the pop-ups or provide personal information, as attackers have used similar tactics on other platforms like CoinMarketCap.
Crypto media outlet Cointelegraph has confirmed its website was compromised by a front-end exploit on Sunday, with attackers injecting a malicious pop-up that falsely claimed to offer “CoinTelegraph ICO Airdrops” and “CTG tokens.”
The fake banner urged readers to connect their crypto wallets in exchange for nearly $5,500 worth of tokens, citing a “fair launch” event and a bogus CertiK audit to lend legitimacy to the scam.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
“Do not click on these pop-ups, connect your wallets, or enter any personal information,” Cointelegraph warned in a post on X, adding that it was “actively working on a fix.”
Victims are typically tricked into connecting wallets for token claims, identity verification, or loyalty rewards — only to have their funds siphoned immediately after.
The tactic mirrors a nearly identical exploit on CoinMarketCap two days earlier, where attackers embedded similar code to serve wallet phishing prompts.
In both cases, the attack relied on hijacking trusted platforms to bypass user skepticism — turning news and data sites into unwitting vectors for wallet drainers.
Read more: CoinMarketCap Briefly Exploited With Wallet Phishing Pop-Up Message
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team in Asia with a focus on crypto derivatives, DeFi, market microstructure, and protocol analysis.
Shaurya holds over $1,000 in BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, SUSHI, CRV, NEAR, YFI, YFII, SHIB, DOGE, USDT, USDC, BNB, MANA, MLN, LINK, XMR, ALGO, VET, CAKE, AAVE, COMP, ROOK, TRX, SNX, RUNE, FTM, ZIL, KSM, ENJ, CKB, JOE, GHST, PERP, BTRFLY, OHM, BANANA, ROME, BURGER, SPIRIT, and ORCA.
He provides over $1,000 to liquidity pools on Compound, Curve, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, BurgerSwap, Orca, AnySwap, SpiritSwap, Rook Protocol, Yearn Finance, Synthetix, Harvest, Redacted Cartel, OlympusDAO, Rome, Trader Joe, and SUN.
