Phishing Scams Plunder $295M from 324K Crypto Users in 2023: Scam Sniffer Report
Summary:
In 2023, over 324,000 crypto users became phishing victims, losing about $295 million in digital assets, according to Scam Sniffer. The security firm’s report also highlighted the persistence of phishing activities despite closure of various wallet draining services, with fraudsters simply relocating their operations to other platforms. Popular traffic source strategies include hacking official Discord and Twitter accounts of legitimate projects, counterfeit crypto asset or NFT airdrops, and spam commenting on Twitter. The report also revealed scams bypassing Google and Twitter's ad guidelines to promote their phishing websites.
In 2023, phishing scams ensnared more than 324,000 cryptocurrency users, resulting in the loss of approximately $295 million in digital assets, according to the 2023 Wallet Drainers Report issued by blockchain cybersecurity firm, Scam Sniffer. The report identifies a surge in phishing activities throughout 2023, highlighting various wallet draining softwares that played a prominent role during the year.
Scam Sniffer also noted that the closure of drainer services didn't dampen phishing activities, as fraudsters shifted their operations to other platforms generously catering to scammers. The notorious Monkey Drainer, recognized for significant phishing attacks, shut down on March 2 after accumulating an estimated $16 million in stolen cryptocurrency. Despite this, phishing persisted, with the service suggesting a different scam platform to its criminal network.
Similar to Monkey Drainer, Inferno Drainer ceased its operations later in the year, but not before pilfering roughly $81 million in digital assets. Post its closure, Angel Drainer seemed to take the reins, according to Scam Sniffer.
The cyber-security firm also evaluated how phishing portals amass web traffic. Common strategies include breaching official Discord and Twitter accounts of legitimate projects and disseminating phishing URLs through subsequent posts. Other techniques consist of staging counterfeit airdrops of digital currencies or nonfungible tokens (NFTs), seizing expired Discord chains, and mass commenting and tagging on Twitter.
Moreover, these scam artists have found ways around Google and Twitter's promotional regulations, allowing their phishing websites to dispense paid Google search advertisements and Twitter ads, as identified by Scam Sniffer.
Published At
1/1/2024 3:00:00 PM
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