Phishing Scammers Clone Blockworks and Etherscan Sites in Crypto Wallet Drain Attempt
Summary:
Crypto media outlet Blockworks and Ethereum blockchain explorer Etherscan have been mimicked by phishing scammers in efforts to drain unsuspecting users' cryptocurrency wallets. The fraudsters created counterfeit websites replete with false news stories to lure individuals into connecting their wallets. Notably, these phishing efforts have hit Reddit pages and other media outlets. Despite the sophisticated scams, flaws in their setup have prevented successful wallet draining transactions.
Crypto news hub Blockworks and Ethereum blockchain explorer Etherscan have been targeted by internet fraudsters who have duplicated their websites in an attempt to mislead users into linking their wallets to a cryptocurrency depleting program. A forged Blockworks webpage showcased a counterfeit news notification indicating that a massive 'approvals exploit' had occurred on the decentralized trading platform Uniswap, urging individuals to check a duplicate Etherscan webpage to cancel approvals. Numerous well-known cryptocurrency-focussed subreddits were exploited by what appear to be hijacked Reddit accounts to spread the fabricated Uniswap news piece. The counterfeit Blockworks site exhibited a counterfeit news piece about an Uniswap exploit, which contrasted with the content on the genuine webpage. Rather than having a genuine token and smart contract confirmation tool, the counterfeit Etherscan webpage houses a wallet draining system. Blockchain protection agency Beosin examined the draining tool's smart contract and informed Cointelegraph that the scammer intends to deplete wallets containing at least 0.1 Ether (ETH), equivalent to about $180. Special note, the draining tool is not set up properly, with no phishing transaction executed when a wallet is linked. A domain age check reveals that the cloned Etherscan site, approvalscan.io, was established on October 25, followed by the creation of the phony Blockworks page, blockworks.media, a day later. On October 25, anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer shared a Twitter post showing that fraudsters had installed a wallet draining program on a webpage plagiarizing crypto news outlet Decrypt's site layout. Scam Sniffer further revealed to Cointelegraph, however, that separate scamming groups operate the fabricated Decrypt and Blockworks sites. The story was last updated on October 27 at 1:30 am UTC, including new insights and comments from both Beosin and Scam Sniffer.
Published At
10/27/2023 12:16:00 AM
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