Fake ASTER airdrop scam targets FTX creditors

Creditors of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX are facing another round of fraud, this time through a fake airdrop scheme.

Sunil Kavuri, a popular FTX creditor advocate, warned on Sept. 24 that community members are being targeted with phishing emails exploiting information stolen in the Kroll data breach.

Kavuri shared a screenshot of the message, which claimed that FTX creditors were eligible for an “ASTER” token distribution and directed them to connect their wallets to what appears to be a claims portal.

ASTER is the native token of a fast-rising DEX platform connected to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. The project is currently distributing 8.8% of its token allocation to community members.

However, Kavuri pointed out that the claims website is fraudulent and designed to drain wallets.

Considering this, he urged creditors to verify announcements only through trusted Telegram and X channels. He said:

“Projects that give airdrops to FTX creditors will only do so through trustworthy sources/posts.”

This latest scam follows a series of phishing attacks that have plagued FTX creditors since the exchange’s collapse. Notably, these issues tend to rise when the failed crypto trading platform is on the verge of repaying creditors.

Meanwhile, the frustration over the repeated attacks has already boiled over into legal action.

Last month, FTX creditors filed a lawsuit against Kroll, arguing that its mishandling of sensitive information left them vulnerable to cybercrime and caused further financial damage on top of exchange losses.

SBF X account resurrects

While FTX creditors fend off fraudsters, the X account of the exchange’s disgraced founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was reactivated.

On Sept. 24, Bankman-Fried’s X account posted a simple “gm” post, sparking speculation about whether the disgraced founder was communicating from prison.

However, the chatter paused when the account issued a second post clarifying that a friend now controlled it and was posting on behalf of Bankman-Fried.

The account now also lists a mailing address for the prisoner’s correspondence, implying people may receive replies to letters via the resurrected X account.

Interestingly, the address is tagged with the phrase ‘monitored,’ implying all letters will be read by authorities before Bankman-Fried opens them. Could this be a warning for correspondents not to send anything incriminating to the address? He pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges against him.

Bankman-Fried, who was convicted for orchestrating one of crypto’s largest frauds, is serving a 25-year sentence. He is currently held in a federal prison and has stepped up his efforts to appeal his sentence.