Cryptocurrency Phishing 2023: Wallet Drainers Steal $295 Million from 324,000 Victims
Jessie A Ellis Jan 02, 2024 04:20
Scam Sniffer's 2023 report shows a significant rise in sophisticated crypto phishing scams, causing losses of $295 million to over 324,000 victims, highlighting ongoing industry challenges.
In the year 2023, the proliferation of sophisticated phishing schemes has had a profound influence on the landscape of the bitcoin industry. The 2023 Wallet Drainers Report published by Scam Sniffer sheds light on the worrisome pace at which these scams have begun to spread, resulting in significant financial losses and victimizing a large number of people.
Based on the findings of Scam Sniffer's investigation, a staggering amount of about $295 million worth of stolen assets was discovered, which affected around 324,000 victims. Phishing fraudsters are becoming more successful in employing more advanced tactics to circumvent security safeguards, as seen by this staggering number. Noteworthy is the fact that a substantial loss of seven million dollars was reported in the month of March. This loss was mostly caused by changes in USDC prices and consumers being duped by bogus Circle websites.
This research makes a number of important observations, one of which is that wallet drainers are always evolving and being replaced. One indication that there is a solid underground market for such illegal services is the fact that when some drainers close their doors, the hole that they leave behind is swiftly filled by other con artists. For example, the closure of Monkey Drainer, which was responsible for high-profile phishing operations and an estimated loss of sixteen million dollars, resulted in the promotion of other scam services to the company's clients. Along the same lines, the closure of Inferno Drainer, which had been responsible for the theft of around $81 million, resulted in the establishment of a new company known as Angel Drainer.
In addition to this, the research sheds light on a variety of methods that con artists use in order to attract victims and acquire traffic. The hacking of official Discord and Twitter accounts belonging to cryptocurrency projects and the dissemination of phishing links via posts is a common but not uncommon tactic. Phishing websites also draw organic traffic by executing false airdrops of crypto assets or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), abusing expired Discord links, and making use of spam comments and mentions on social media platforms. All of these methods are used to drive organic traffic. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that con artists have also been able to get around the advertising policies of Google and Twitter, which has enabled them to post sponsored advertisements on these platforms, therefore expanding their outreach even further.
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