Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are increasingly becoming the targets of sophisticated phishing scams, with the latest wave of attacks involving wallet drainers. In a single day, these scammers have managed to siphon off cryptocurrencies worth $3 million. This method involves creating malicious websites, often advertised through Google Ads, that mimic legitimate Web3 platforms.
A report by Cointelegraph on December 21 highlighted the use of MS Drainer by cybercriminals. Throughout 2023, this software has been instrumental in the theft of $59 million in digital currencies. Scam Sniffer, a security analysis firm, noted that these fraudsters cleverly duped users into visiting counterfeit versions of popular Web3 sites like Zapper, Lido, Stargate, DefiLlama, Orbiter Finance, and Radient.
These incidents of phishing and theft were further confirmed on December 25, when the security team discovered new cases linked to the same scammers, identified through the addresses found in their scam tracking database.
another victim lost $880k worth of aEthWBTC to phishing scams about 11 minutes ago. https://t.co/yMM9OSzRDI https://t.co/6n6m0lZQK4 pic.twitter.com/jsrEGTaVJ8
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) December 26, 2023
On Christmas Day, Scam Sniffer reported to Cointelegraph that phishing scams led to a significant loss of around $3 million. The stolen assets comprised various cryptocurrencies, including Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), aPolUSDT, aUSDC, and USDT. This information was corroborated by screenshots provided by the company, detailing the separate incidents of theft.
A representative from Scam Sniffer highlighted that they had alerted Google Ads’ security team about the proliferation of fraudulent sites and the utilization of wallet-draining software as early as April 2023. Despite this, there has been no response from Google Ads to date.
These recent incidents of phishing serve as a stark warning to the crypto community. They underscore the importance of vigilance when verifying the legitimacy of websites and the transactions that are requested through Web3 wallets.
The spokesperson from Scam Sniffer emphasized that phishing scams currently pose the greatest risk to users. The best defense, they advise, is for users to meticulously scrutinize every signature request.
In a recent analysis, Scam Sniffer identified a staggering 10,072 counterfeit sites using MS Drainer throughout 2023. According to a dashboard created on Dune Analytics to monitor these activities, MS Drainer has been instrumental in the theft of approximately $58.98 million in cryptocurrencies from over 63,000 victims.
Source: cointelegraph.com