Cybersecurity group eSentire has uncovered the use of fake CAPTCHA-style pop-ups to trick victims into deploying credential-harvesting malware, Amatera Stealer, and NETSupport RAT by abusing a method known as ClickFix. eSentire’s Threat Response Unit (TRU) has been tracking an escalation in campaigns abusing ClickFix to gain initial access to targeted systems in November. According to […]Cybersecurity group eSentire has uncovered the use of fake CAPTCHA-style pop-ups to trick victims into deploying credential-harvesting malware, Amatera Stealer, and NETSupport RAT by abusing a method known as ClickFix. eSentire’s Threat Response Unit (TRU) has been tracking an escalation in campaigns abusing ClickFix to gain initial access to targeted systems in November. According to […]

Hackers target crypto wallets, browser data in fake reCAPTCHA pop-up campaign

2025/11/18 19:33

Cybersecurity group eSentire has uncovered the use of fake CAPTCHA-style pop-ups to trick victims into deploying credential-harvesting malware, Amatera Stealer, and NETSupport RAT by abusing a method known as ClickFix.

eSentire’s Threat Response Unit (TRU) has been tracking an escalation in campaigns abusing ClickFix to gain initial access to targeted systems in November. According to the TRU, threat actors use the method to socially engineer victims into running malicious commands manually through the Windows Run prompt. 

Once executed, those commands launch an infection chain that ends with the deployment of Amatera Stealer and NetSupport RAT, both legitimate remote monitoring tools that have been repurposed by cybercriminals for unauthorized remote access.

ClickFix campaign uses reCAPTCHA to sneak malware in

Per eSentire’s research published last Thursday, hackers are luring victims using fake websites and pop-ups that look like “security checks,” including fraudulent reCAPTCHA verification boxes and counterfeit Cloudflare Turnstile pages. 

The deceptive interfaces prompt users to “fix” a supposed issue, with the instructions causing them to execute harmful commands without seeing the risks. Once the initial command is run, Amatera Stealer is delivered first, followed by the installation of NetSupport Manager, which allows hackers to monitor and control the compromised machine as though they were physically present.

Amatera Stealer is not an entirely new threat but the latest evolution of ACR Stealer, also known as AcridRain. The earlier version first appeared as a malware-as-a-service product on hacker forums in 2024, which several users deployed through subscription packages.

Sales of ACR were paused in mid-2024 when its developer, known online as SheldIO, sold the malware’s source code. Despite the sale announcement, the group said it was “not the end” of its development. Researchers now believe Amatera is the direct successor to ACR, rebuilt with more capabilities and new evasion techniques.

Amatera, spotted by security auditing firm Proofpoint in June, is available on a subscription basis from $199 per month to $1,499 annually.

“Amatera provides threat actors with extensive data exfiltration capabilities targeting crypto-wallets, browsers, messaging applications, FTP clients, and email services. It employs advanced evasion strategies like WoW64 SysCalls to circumvent user-mode hooking mechanisms used by sandboxes, Anti-Virus solutions, and EDR products,” eSentire said.

The malware is written in C++ and is capable of harvesting saved passwords, card details, browsing histories, and files from browsers like Chrome, Brave, Edge, Opera, Firefox, and specialized platforms such as Tor Browser and Thunderbird. 

Multi-stage Windows PowerShell loaders hiding malware

According to eSentire’s threat analysis, the Amatera’s infection process is built on several layers of obfuscated PowerShell commands. 

TRU researchers saw one phase decrypting subsequent payloads using an XOR process on the string “AMSI_RESULT_NOT_DETECTED,” a term associated with Microsoft’s Anti-Malware Scan Interface. The loader’s developer could have selected the phrase intentionally to confuse researchers conducting dynamic analysis.

While Amatera is the most common payload delivered in these campaigns, eSentire also documented cases where the same loader was used to deploy other infostealers, including Lumma and Vidar. Some samples lacked configuration parameters needed to run multi-stage loaders, in which hackers chose to deploy NetSupport Manager directly instead.

eSentire and other security firms have documented email campaigns distributing Visual Basic Script files disguised as invoices. When opened, the files executed batch scripts that initiated PowerShell loaders delivering XWorm.

Other campaigns involved compromised websites that redirected visitors to fake Cloudflare verification pages, which mimic ClickFix prompts. This activity has been tied to an operation known by names including SmartApeSG, HANEYMANEY, and ZPHP, all coming with NetSupport RAT as their final payload.

Hackers had built fraudulent Booking.com websites that hosted counterfeit CAPTCHA checks, instructing users to open the Windows Run dialog and execute a command, and directly installing a credential-stealing script onto infected systems.

Some of the phishing campaigns connected to these malware deliveries are using a new phishing kit known as Cephas. Cephas, according to cybersecurity solutions firm Barracuda, uses an advanced obfuscation method that inserts invisible characters into the source code of phishing pages, difficult for automated scanners to detect.

“The kit obscures its code by creating random invisible characters within the source code that help it evade anti-phishing scanners and obstruct signature-based YARA rules from matching the exact phishing methods,” Barracuda wrote in its analysis last week.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.

Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.

You May Also Like

Mono Protocol Raises $2M in Private Round and Opens Whitelist: Here’s How Its Unified Balances and Universal Accounts Will Reshape Web3

Mono Protocol Raises $2M in Private Round and Opens Whitelist: Here’s How Its Unified Balances and Universal Accounts Will Reshape Web3

The post Mono Protocol Raises $2M in Private Round and Opens Whitelist: Here’s How Its Unified Balances and Universal Accounts Will Reshape Web3 appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The way people use blockchain today often feels complicated. Balances are scattered across different networks, bridging takes time and money, and users constantly switch wallets and chains to complete simple actions. Mono Protocol is building a new foundation for Web3 that unifies these experiences. With unified balances, instant settlement, and universal accounts, it aims to make blockchain interactions feel seamless.  The project has raised $2M in a Private Round and is now running whitelist registration ahead of the presale. Mono Protocol: Solving Web3’s Biggest Problem With a Unified Design Today’s blockchain space struggles with fragmentation. Users maintain balances across several chains, bridges are slow and expensive, and front-running risks cause value loss. Developers face the added challenge of building infrastructure for multiple networks, making the experience complex on both sides. Mono Protocol addresses these issues with chain abstraction technology. By unifying per-token balances, it allows users to hold and use assets from any supported blockchain in one place. Transactions are protected with MEV-resistant routing, ensuring value is preserved during execution.  Liquidity Lock technology guarantees that transactions cannot fail, which is a major step forward compared to traditional cross-chain systems. This combination creates a new standard for blockchain interaction. Developers gain access to simple APIs to build cross-chain applications without handling infrastructure overhead, while users enjoy one-click transactions across multiple ecosystems. It marks a shift from fragmented networks to a cohesive Web3 environment where complexity is invisible. One Balance, One Account, One Experience Mono Protocol introduces unified balances, instant settlement, and universal accounts that work across blockchains. This approach makes transactions simpler, faster, and free of the friction users often face today. Instead of managing assets on multiple networks, users interact with a single account and one balance. Liquidity Locks ensure transactions are guaranteed and completed instantly, while universal accounts remove…
Share
BitcoinEthereumNews2025/09/19 20:13