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Cointelegraph Users Targeted by Fake Airdrop in Alarming Website Ad Breach
When the trusted crypto news site Cointelegraph fell victim to a sophisticated front-end exploit on June 23, 2025, thousands of readers suddenly found themselves staring at what appeared to be their lucky day. A convincing pop-up promised randomly selected visitors over $5,000 worth of “CTG” tokens, complete with professional branding and a ticking countdown timer that created urgency. The scam even referenced a fake CertiK audit to boost credibility.
This wasn’t your typical phishing attempt sliding into DMs or spam folders. The attackers had compromised Cointelegraph’s advertising network, injecting malicious JavaScript directly into the website. Visitors couldn’t tell the difference between this fake airdrop and legitimate promotions. Once users connected their wallets, hidden scripts automatically triggered transactions that drained funds faster than you could say “rug pull.”
The incident represents a troubling evolution in crypto scams. Instead of relying on suspicious emails or sketchy social media posts, criminals are now hijacking trusted platforms. This attack joins a wave of sophisticated wallet-draining schemes that contributed to over $9.9 billion in crypto losses during 2024 and 2025. The Cointelegraph breach specifically exposed vulnerabilities in advertising systems across Web3 publishing platforms. Just two days earlier, CoinMarketCap experienced a nearly identical exploit using wallet phishing prompts embedded through compromised code.
Criminals now hijack trusted platforms, exposing vulnerabilities in Web3 advertising systems.
Red flags for fake airdrops remain consistent, though. Legitimate projects announce airdrops through official channels, not random pop-ups. They never ask for private keys or seed phrases. If the reward seems too generous without clear eligibility criteria, that’s your cue to dyor. Grammar mistakes and generic language often reveal hastily assembled scams. The breach occurred just two days after a massive data leak exposed over 16 billion login credentials, potentially providing hackers with ammunition for coordinated attacks.
The crypto community faces an arms race between scammers and security measures. While retroactive and AI-monitored airdrops emerge as potential defenses, criminals continuously adapt their tactics. Scammers often employ honeypot tactics by creating smart contracts that allow deposits but prevent withdrawals, trapping victims’ funds indefinitely. The Cointelegraph incident proves that even experienced crypto enthusiasts can fall victim when scams appear on trusted platforms.
This breach serves as a reminder that vigilance remains essential in the crypto space. Trust but verify applies even to familiar websites. As the saying goes, if something seems too good to be true in crypto, it probably wants your wallet address for all the wrong reasons.