It was a panic-inducing Friday for users of the robo-advisor Betterment, who received a notification that looked every bit like a sophisticated phishing attempt. The message urged customers to send a staggering $10,000 to specified Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets, with the ludicrous promise to “triple your crypto.”
While this smelled like a massive security breach, Betterment clarified via an X (Twitter) thread that it was technically an “unauthorized message” sent through a “third-party system.” Whether this was a compromised API key or an internal error remains the core question.
For a fintech company built on trust, seeing a sketchy crypto offer push-notified to devices is a nightmare scenario. It serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of interconnected financial systems and the importance of skepticism, even when the alert comes from a “legit” app.
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