Have you heard about the availability of X Gold accounts for sale on darknet? Yes, it’s true; Cybercriminals are selling verified Gold accounts of X, formerly known as Twitter, on the dark net.
What is (Twitter) X Gold Accounts?
The Gold badge on X (Twitter) is a paid feature that indicates that the high-profile organizations and celebrity accounts are official business accounts through X (Twitter) verified organizations. The standard duration of an X Gold subscription is 30 days. Moreover, there is a grey checkmark that indicates that an account represents a government/multilateral organization and a blue badge that requires an authentic, notable, active, and of public interest profile.
How Hackers Hack X Gold Accounts?
There have been an increasing number of posts on the dark web forums selling accounts with X gold verification. CloudSEK stated that the accounts for sale are acquired through various methods, including manual creation, brute-forcing existing accounts, and using malware information to gather records.
- Manually Creation of Fake Accounts: The advertisers make accounts, get them verified, and make those accounts ready to use for their buyers.
- Brute–Forcing Existing Account: They take over an existing account by users using a generic username and password combo list.
- Using Malware to gather records: Info stealers have a centralized botnet network where information from infected devices is harvested and further validated according to buyers’ requirements.
Price of X Gold Accounts for Sale on Darknet
The research conducted by CloudSEK found that a new X account would sell for approximately $0.30, but accounts for the past 5 or more years with a gold affiliation could sell for roughly $1200 – $2000. The prices also depend on the number of followers belonging to the account. The sale on the darknet of Gold accounts has been going on since last March.
What Criminals Do After Selling X Gold Accounts?
The criminals use the hacked or compromised accounts for selling or use them for their own scams, including financial fraud, phishing attacks, and targeting the followers of the original account owner. According to the reports, hackers use Twitter gold accounts to spread false information and propaganda, impacting public opinion and causing reputation damage. Moreover, these accounts posses a huge risk for individuals and organizations as their accounts could be used to spread disinformation, steal sensitive information, promote cryptocurrency scams, fake investments, and other financial frauds.
How Much Gold Accounts Sold on the Dark Web?
The researchers said that: “Dark web forums and marketplaces have a dedicated section where social media sales are extensively observed recently, there has been a surge of posts where threat actors were selling accounts with X Gold verification,” Cyberattackers take over an account that belongs to Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum. And then tweeted out an offer for supposedly free nonfungible tokens (NFTs), with a malware link inserted that redirected users to a fake website designed to drain cryptocurrency from their wallets. After that, according to the analysts, “Despite being active for about 20 minutes, the hackers managed to siphon off a staggering $691,000 [in] digital assets before removing the fraudulent post.”
How Can Users Safe Their X Gold Accounts?
Individuals and organizations can prevent their X/Twitter accounts from being abused by ensuring that inactive accounts are closed if they have not been using these for a long time. Additionally, the report says to make sure your log in is not stolen, the organizations should enforce the best and strong password protections. Monitoring the organization’s feed for signs of X/Twitter hacking, including unauthorized product listing, misleading advertisements, and fake profiles.
FAQs
Q: How much does the Twitter gold account cost?
A: Elon Musk’s X (Twitter) is offering business verification for $200 per month.
Q: What is Malware on the dark net?
A: Malware, a short form of malicious software, is a type of software that cybercriminals use to destroy or damage computers and steal data.
Final Words
The researchers are worried about the increased number of X Gold accounts for sale on the darknet as it is a huge wave of attacks and misinformation in the coming days. The owners having the Gold badge should keep an eye on their accounts.