Topic: Fake Google Sheets Extension - Scammed | Last Update! (Read 617 times)

 must say you're quite lucky and very attentive to details. Imagine if you weren't observant; you could have lost even more money. To be honest, I don't think the extension was the sole reason for this issue. Most extensions usually require authorization before they can run in your browser, like Chrome or others. I'd like to know, did you ever give authorization to the Google Sheets extension? Or are you suggesting that it gained permission without your consent? If it's the latter, it's clear that any extension that doesn't ask for your permission should be avoided, as it seems to be a scam extension. This is a serious matter, as I also have several extensions on my device, some of which I downloaded from websites I don't fully trust. I think I'll go back and check those extensions to be on the safe side.

Trust me, with time, you eventually get used to It.
I will speak for myself, I am not a nerd and Linux gave me some hard time for the first few weeks, but I got used to it after a while. When I am into transactions and trading, I often use it as compared to my Windows 11. Everyone always starts from somewhere.

The only downside is that there are some platforms that just have Windows and macOS app support and no Linux, but this is minimal

I've only used Ubuntu once, quite a few years ago, and it's a completely different environment that I couldn't get used to. However, they're definitely safer and ideal for such applications, which makes me consider it, especially now that I've installed a second HDD, one of which could be Windows and the other Ubuntu. It'll only be isolated for the wallet, which would make it a lot safer than it being on a Windows environment that's been used at the same time.
Antiviruses can be bypassed when it's a new type of malware or virus. After user reports, they update their software to include such malicious attempts. Back then, there wasn't a single mention similar to my case, so I guess I was probably one of their first victims. Reporting to the authorities wouldn't change a thing; I had no details other than a wallet's address, and while the amount I was scammed was petty for them to even bother, they'd laugh at me if I reported that my 25 XRP coins, then worth about $10, were stolen due to a fake extension.

Antiviruses is easily bypassed if the scammer/hacker is good enough at creating a program not to mention they most likely hitch these programs on legitimate programs that's downloaded illegally. Trojans work that way and they install themselves without you noticing them.

Hopefully OP reported this crime at the least to the cybercrime division of OP's country because hackers aren't scared because no one reports them even if it's left unchecked at the least they will have a record of this incident so when more people report similar situations, they can just act on it. I do download movies and animes in my phone so these scares me big time but this helped me remember to always double-check the address that I will transfer my funds.

If you can, install Linux OS as well on your PC and use it only to install wallets, performing transactions and maybe trading.

There are fewer chances of picking up malware via Linux unless if one is way too careless. I have mine and I have never ever felt unsafe like I do when using Windows even though I have not many random apps installed in it.
Antivirus software programs are just bullshit and can give you a false sense of security.

No, the address is not changing when copy-pasting. The extension was displaying the hacker's address instead of the right deposit address; thus, you're practically handing over your coins to the hackers. The extension though wasn't probably installed for a long time, because its script was slowing down tabs and making them crash.

I'm going through a fresh Windows installation as we speak, even though my computer looks safe so far, as no antivirus can detect any kind of malware right now. I had used the Brave browser in the past; I don't know if it also had the extension installed, but it didn't suit me. It's not the browser's fault; it's just that I find Chrome more convenient due to the synchronizations through my Google account, which sync all the necessary data I'm using daily. On top of that, I use their services, such as Google Drive, Gmail, Photos, etc., on a daily basis.

Before the automation of Google services and the Chrome browser, I used to use Firefox and preferred it as a browser overall; it was also a lot lighter than Chrome.

It will only be possible if the two browsers are sync using the same google account/email.

To OP, have you tried other browsers instead of chrome? I'm not a fan of it actually, Firefox is much better for me Check if the address is changing too after pasting it on the address textbox.
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To OP, if you really think that the extension was installed through other unknown app/s without your AV detecting even after a full scan. I will also suggest to reformat or install a new OS to your device. It might be troublesome and time-consuming, but it's your last choice to get rid of the malware.

There is something weird about Microsoft Edge that I noticed. It seems to automatically install extensions that are already installed on Chrome. I saw this on my Windows PC

By the way, there are some software apps that maliciously install browser extensions and even change the default search engine settings of your browser. So it's a possibility that at one point you installed an app and without properly reviewing the additional add-ons it would install, you just kept clicking OK or Next on the software installer dialogue box.

There is supposed to be a pop-up warning in Google Chrome that tells you when an extension was installed (or prompts you whether you want to install an extension in the case of Chrome Web Store). Unless Developer Mode is enabled in chrome://extensions, in which case there will be no prompt at all when you use the "load unpacked" button, so you should probably disable that unless you absolutely need that feature.

That also crossed my mind, but back then, I couldn't bring myself to rewind if I possibly did such a thing. However, it would make sense, as I probably wouldn't suspect a Google Sheets extension. I would like to know in order to prevent something similar in the future. As far as I know, no torrents were downloaded anywhere close to the date the extension appeared. I have no evidence that they are to blame, and to be honest, I do doubt to this day that it was the cause, as it was two torrents for Adobe software that were supposedly by a so-called reputable torrent source.

However, I never use Microsoft Edge. I get that I could possibly accept a pop-up without realizing it, but what about Edge? I've never used it in the past, and up to this day, I hadn't realized that it was also installed there, which means that the infected files were still on my computer but were affecting a different application.

I just saw this thread but damn. I could only bet that this extension came from your browser activity, it could be from ads, and was accepted without you remembering, or you are busy downloading other things then this one pops up, since installing an extension will have a browser pop up notification, thats the standard for security purposes in browsers, it could not be installed from without it.

This was the worst part; no antivirus software or VirusTotal was able to detect the malware when I fell victim to the extension. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, and I probably wouldn't have suspected it myself if Binance's customer support agent hadn't mentioned checking for possible malware. It didn't make any sense, and nothing was able to detect it on my computer if I hadn't seen it myself and realized it. It's delightful that at least now, a year later, it's fully recognized by even free software such as Malwarebytes. I also had the Brave browser installed, which swegmen1 was using when he was scammed, but I didn't think to check if it had the extension installed on it.
I just rechecked the quarantine history, and the majority of the malware found was involved with the fake extension that was left on Microsoft Edge. Fortunately, it seems to be gone for good. I'll do a clean installation of Windows soon. The most frustrating matter I'm facing is that I could never track what caused the extension to install—was it a torrent or another kind of software? I guess we'll never learn.
Malwarebytes caught some stuff on the registry too, but I've got no clue what it is about. My wallet has no transactions on it, and I intend to keep it that way. I'm generally a little paranoid after this incident and will be extra careful if I make any transactions. So far, after I manually deleted the extension files a year ago, I've faced no issues, nor have I suspected that something was off.

I suggest that you don't do some large crypto transactions before making sure that your computer is really clean. You can do light activities, and try to connect to the internet, will the extension contact the server to try to reinstall without permission.

As a tip, in the past I was also used to handling the laptops of some of my office employees who were infected with viruses. Besides relying on antivirus, I do manual cleaning especially on registry configuration.

Thank you all for updating the topic, and the fake extension of browsers is dangerous, and the hacker can access the important data saved in the browser and steal it; frankly, I found a safe solution for you is to make a new copy of Windows or Linux and remove your current version of Windows completely, because your computer may also be infected. Although antivirus software may be effective, it may not be able to detect all encrypted malwares.

Really, 111 malwares are very scary.

Torrent files are risky, illegal, and contain malwares. I do not advise you, after making a new Windows for your computer, to use the torrent files that you downloaded before and stored on your computer. I think it is the main reason for installing this fake extension on your computer without your knowledge.

Yes, updating the system continuously is important, also downloading programs from their official websites only.

This part is what scares me the most, as the level that this virus programmers have gone up to not being detected by any anti virus either paid or free one is what scares me the most, as one will not be able to detect when they are actually free from virus and when they are not, when we need to worry about something or not, especially when you are making use of a same PC which you use for crypto related transaction, the risk is very high as most of the virus is designed to target crypto related transaction just as the case of swegmen1 which I never even still don't know if such was ever going to be possible as what I know of is clipboard virus and I have learned to reconfirm my address every time i want to execute a transaction in other to avoid falling into the hackers hands.

It's good you bumped this thread, as I have been able to grab a few, if not up to two, types of viruses and how they attack, which ordinarily I was not aware of.

Excuse me for grave digging such an old thread, but I figured it would be best to revive it rather than come up with a new thread since the update is referring to the exact incident.

I haven't had access to my computer for the past few months due to personal reasons that aren't the main subject; thus, I had my laptop completely abandoned and left in a state of despair. I strongly remember that if I uninstalled the extension through Chrome's extension manager, it would simply reappear the next time Chrome was launched. Thus, I resorted to finding the corresponding files in the data folder and deleting them myself. This worked, although Chrome appeared to still attempt to launch the now-missing extension, as seen in the following photo. However, that didn't bother me too much since the extension was practically gone. Keep in mind that no kind of antivirus software was able to spot anything unusual, even if I selected Chrome's folder directly.

Today I decided to do a long-needed cleanup on the computer after more than half a year of being inactive. I started with a malware scan from Malwarebytes, and to my surprise, it still detected the fake extension! However, the extension was found on Microsoft Edge, something that completely slipped undetected because I generally use Chrome and never spotted it on Edge.


It also certainly found malware in Chrome's folders because, after the scan was complete and the threat was wiped, the message on the first screenshot stopped appearing, meaning that it wasn't trying to launch it anymore.

So, this is hopefully the last update on this thread, and the reason for me to update it is due to it no longer being undetected by antiviruses, as I was pleasantly surprised by Malwarebytes, which caught all threats. Up to this day, I still haven't found any clues on how this extension got installed, nor can I suspect any torrents that I have used in the past. Thus, keep your software and Windows updated at all times, as security breaches are becoming more and more dangerous.

I'm sorry for your loss. Do you have any idea how the extension got installed in the first place? In my case, I found that it had been running for quite a while and couldn't possibly trace back to who was responsible for its installation. I had a few guesses regarding some torrented software, but the creation date of the extension's folder doesn't line up with the download date; thus, I can't be sure that the torrents were to blame. Although I will refrain from downloading pirated software from now on.

You can spend thousands of dollars to hire investigators for a chance they might be able to piece something out. Emphasis on "for a chance"... as you can guess, it's not advisable in most cases.

The most attainable thing you could do right now is to take precautions so this never happens again and maybe monitor the transaction in the blockchain to see if your scammer is dumb enough to send your coins directly to an exchange [unlikely chance so keep your expectations low]. You could use block explorers like oxt.me which labels known exchange addresses.

I was a victim of this two days ago.
It changed my Binance bitcoin address to this address:
1bmL3m2Wrb4qzSyNnLU3ExEhWX8C7QeWK
I lost 0.00810000 BTC.
BTC is still unspent.
https[Suspicious link removed]hWX8C7QeWK

Is it possible to get the real ID/team of this extension maker?

@swegmen1, thank you for the warning and the detailed description, and I hope that the $200 is not something that meant too much to you in your life, so that it can be just one life lesson for you. If you can somehow (in the future) separate everything that belongs to entertainment (and it is risky) from anything related to cryptocurrencies, that would protect you from something like this happening to you again. Pirated content whether it's movies/music or software is very risky and you should find an alternative in a legal way to access such things.

I advise formatting the disk and a fresh installation of the OS to make sure that you have removed the infection.