RCS - Brandshield Systems - Rise in suspicious Dogecoin domain registrations

Brandshield SystemsAnnouncement

09/07/2021 07:00

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RNS Number : 6881E  Brandshield Systems PLC  09 July 2021

RNS Reach

 

 

NEWS RELEASE

 

BrandShield Systems plc

 

("BrandShield", or the "Company")

 

More than 700% rise in suspicious Dogecoin domain registrations this year
damaging for the crypto community, warns BrandShield report

 

●    New data from cybersecurity firm BrandShield shows suspicious domain
registrations for Dogecoin have increased, up 744% from January 2021

●    Cybersecurity firm calls on major industry players to do more to
protect investors' trust after in-depth report and warns that should they fail
to act, we could see another collapse as in 2018

●    Cybercriminals look to capitalize off Elon Musk tweets and crypto
frenzy to defraud consumers

 

8th July 2021: (https://www.brandshield.com/) BrandShield
(https://www.brandshield.com/) (LSE: BRSD), an online threat hunting company
specialised in monitoring, detecting, and removing online threats, today
announced new and alarming findings on the rise of cryptocurrency-related
scams, with Dogecoin domain registrations up by more than 700%. The findings
come as cryptocurrency has exploded in popularity with retail investors,
driving hundreds of billions of dollars of investment to and increased
scrutiny of the financial asset from media and government organisations.

 

BrandShield provides its SaaS based online protection solution to a growing
number of clients in the crypto sector including eToro and a leading global
crypto currency investment company to which BrandShield announced an extension
to its contract on 15 April 2021.

 

In a deep crawling of the Internet and an analysis of websites, domain names
and social platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn,
BrandShield found that Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency amongst retail
investors, online message boards, and the tech-tycoon Elon Musk, have all
experienced an explosive increase in suspicious domain registrations.

 

Since January 2021, Dogecoin domain registrations have increased by 744%,
while other popular crypto coins, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, have also
been susceptible to a total of more than 20,000 domains as of May 2021 - a
163% increase of the first five months of last year. BrandShield's analysis
also showed that crypto trading platforms were a popular target of
cybercriminals. Coinbase saw the largest number of suspicious domain
registrations, with a 324% increase since January 2021, while Binance had the
second-largest increase in suspicious domain registrations over the same
period with a 123% increase.

 

BrandShield also ran an analysis related to online cybercrime and fraud
committed in the name of crypto-influencers, including Elon Musk. The
self-proclaimed "Dogefather" had more than 205 fraudulent Facebook accounts
impersonating him and leveraging his name to defraud individual investors, as
well as on other social platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and the Russian
platform, VK. Despite a massive surge in cybercrime related to cryptocurrency
and their trading platforms, little is being done by influencers and brands,
and criminals are leveraging this situation to attack hard-working investors.

 

Yoav Keren, co-founder and CEO of BrandShield, said: "As cryptocurrency
receives more mainstream coverage, investors of all experience levels are
flocking to the alternative i markets, whether to trade assets for the first
time or diversify their investments. It shouldn't surprise anyone that
cybercriminals are following the money and targeting retail investors with
both increasing frequency and sophistication through a wide array of fraud
schemes. Not only is there a responsibility from these social media firms to
address fraud on their platforms, but influencers, brands, and
cryptocurrencies also have a duty to protect their fans and eliminate fraud by
cybercriminals looking to steal millions in their name."

 

The report has been covered in Business Insider Magazine and can be viewed on
the following link:

 

https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/dogecoin-scams-sites-domains-bitcoin-ether-coinbase-binance-phishing-2021-7
(https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/dogecoin-scams-sites-domains-bitcoin-ether-coinbase-binance-phishing-2021-7)

 

To learn more about BrandShield's online brand protection and executive
impersonation threat hunting capabilities, please visit:
https://www.brandshield.com/ (https://www.brandshield.com/)

 

 

- ENDS -

 

 BrandShield Systems plc                                              +44 (0)20 3143 8300

 Yoav Keren, CEO
 Spark Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser)                  +44 (0)20 3368 3554

 Neil Baldwin / Andrew Emmott / James Keeshan

 Shore Capital (Joint Broker)                                         +44 (0)20 7408 4090

 Toby Gibbs / James Thomas / Sarah Mather (Corporate Advisory)

 Henry Willcocks (Corporate Broking)

 Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker)                                   +44 (0)20 7186 9033

 Peter Krens

 VSC (PR Agency US)                                                   JustinH@vsc.co

 Justin Higgins

 

About BrandShield

BrandShield is a leading cybersecurity company founded in Israel by
cybersecurity experts that protect the world's largest brands and consumers
from phishing attacks, online fraud, and other online threats posed by
dangerous cybercriminals. Through its AI/ML platform, BrandShield identifies,
tracks, and eliminates online threats for global brands and organizations,
including Bristol Myers Squibb, Levi's, NewBalance, Swisscom, and the
Pharmaceutical Security Institute. BrandShield is listed on the London Stock
Exchange AIM under the ticker symbol BRSD. To learn more about BrandShield,
please visit the company website at www.BrandShield.com
(http://www.brandshield.com) .

 

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For more information, please contact:

 

E: brandshielduk@balloupr.com (mailto:brandshielduk@balloupr.com)

 

Ross Copping

T: 020 3983 8298

 

 

 

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