- Cryptocurrency traders lost nearly $70 million to “address poisoning” scams.
- Scammers created spoof accounts and tricked victims into transferring funds to a fake address.
- Cryptocurrency fraud is on the rise, costing investors around $4 billion last year, according to the FBI.
A crypto trader reportedly lost tens of millions of dollars to a so-called “address poisoning” scam.
According to , address poisoning scams are carried out by thieves who create an account impersonating a victim's online virtual currency “address,” in hopes that the victim will later accidentally send money to the fake address. It is used to transfer small amounts of currency to. Transak, a cryptocurrency trading platform.
Because blockchain is public, it is easy for fraudsters to find people's crypto addresses and send spoofed transactions to phish their victims.
Blockchain security firm CertiK has confirmed that it has detected $69.3 million worth of Bitcoin transfers to addresses “associated with address poisoning.” Post to X.
Victim cryptocurrency wallets are now shown to have completely lost approximately 97% of their assets on Coinbase. The account is currently worth just over $1.6 million.
Another security firm, PecShield, wrote to X that the scammers exchanged the stolen Bitcoin for 23,000 Ethereum and transferred the funds. According to Daily Hoddle, Ethereum is trading at $3,116 per coin.
Trezor, another cryptocurrency trading platform, recommends double-verifying all addresses before sending transactions and not copying addresses from your transaction history when transferring funds to avoid address fraud. I am.
The company says sending a small test transaction before making a large transfer is also an effective way to verify an address.
According to the FBI's 2023 Internet Crime Report, crypto-related scams are on the rise. Crypto-related fraud cost investors $3.94 billion last year, accounting for more than three-quarters of annual investment fraud losses, according to the report.
One study shows that from 2020 to 2024, crypto “pig butchering” scams cost investors $75 million. This scam begins by sending a text with a false number, which the criminal uses as a way to build trust with the victim.
They then lure the victim into making a fake cryptocurrency investment by sending a small amount of money, and only cut off contact if the victim sends a large amount to the thief.
The name of this scam refers to fattening pigs before slaughter.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, most cryptocurrency scams involve scammers trying to trick victims of unrelated scams into paying them in Bitcoin so they can't trace their crimes.
The best way to spot a cryptocurrency scam is to never trust anyone who only accepts payments in crypto or promises big returns on dubious investments, authorities say.
“Investment scams are one of the primary ways scammers trick you into purchasing virtual currency and then transferring it to the scammer,” the FTC said. “However, scammers may also impersonate businesses, government agencies, and romantic partners, among other tactics.”
