Crypto Phishing Scams Spike in February, Over $46M Stolen
Summary:
In February, fraudulent activities via fake accounts on social media platform X led to over 57,000 victims being tricked in crypto phishing scams, with losses over $46.8 million. A report by Scam Sniffer shows Ethernet mainnet and ERC-20 tokens were the main targets, with users being swindled through phishing comments from impersonated Twitter accounts. There was an upward trend in phishing victims in February, although the total stolen amount was lesser compared to January. The scams focused on generating false transactions to gain wallet access and drain funds. High-profile social media accounts were key targets, including figures such as MicroStrategy and Vitalik Buterin.
In February, over 57,000 people were duped by crypto phishing scams attributable to fraudulent accounts on social media platform X. A recent report by Scam Sniffer reveals that these scams resulted in losses exceeding $46.8 million, with a large number of victims being tricked through phony comments from Twitter accounts pretending to be others.
The findings revealed that the scalar Ethereum blockchain was the source of approximately 78% of total thefts. ERC-20 tokens, the most frequently stolen assets, accounted for 86% of all stolen assets. Scam Sniffer further reported that loss of Ethereum tokens happened mostly when users were swindled into signing phishing signatures and transaction consents such as Permit, IncreaseAllowance, and Uniswap Permit2.
The report also disclosed a growing trend among digital pickpockets to utilize account abstraction wallets for token approval spending. This technique enhances various features and enhances compatibility with Ethereum wallets' smart contracts. Despite witnessing an upshot in the number of phishing victims as compared to January, the sum total of assets stolen in February was less. Furthermore, a significant reduction was observed in the number of victims losing over $1 million.
Phishers have been increasingly targeting prominent personalities on social media by either responding to posts through counterfeit accounts, replicating the actual one, or by hacking into an account to share phishing links. Last month, amongst others, the X account of MicroStrategy was hacked resulting in approximately $440,000 worth of crypto assets being stolen. Apart from this, Compound Finance, Rocket Pool, Blockchain Capital, and even Vitalik Buterin have had their X accounts compromised by crypto phishers in the previous few months.
A rising trend in 'approval phishing' tactics to loot funds was reported by Cointelegraph in December. This strategy tricks victims into signing transactions giving fraudsters wallet access, thus enabling them to siphon off funds.
As per a recent FBI report, millennials represent the demographic most susceptible to investment scams.
Published At
3/11/2024 6:56:37 AM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.