324 thousand users fell victim to crypto phishing in 2023
324 thousand users fell victim to crypto phishing in 2023
In 2023, the haul of scammers using crypto phishing strategies reached $300 million.
The activity of crypto scammers increased significantly last year, and the use of wallet hacking malware allowed them to steal money from 324,000 users.
Inferno Drainer was used to steal the most funds, siphoning $81 million from 134,000 victims, The Block reported.
Cryptojackers stole nearly $300 million (295.5) worth of cryptocurrency in 2023, with the maximum amount stolen from a single user reaching $24 million, according to data published by blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer.
How does it happen? Viral software is installed on phishing websites that use services similar to Cloudflare to mask the real server addresses. Users are lured to the fake portals to force them to make malicious transactions with their crypto wallets. In this way, the fraudsters steal their money.
It's worth noting that this cycle repeats itself as some scammers and wallet thieves leave the scene and others quickly take their place, exacerbating the phishing cycle.
Scam Sniffer shared a recent example where 52 stETH worth $125,000 were stolen from the crypto wallet of Bill Lu, CEO of wallet security app Nest. The attack took place amid rumors of a new LFG token giveaway and a fake guide to its distribution.
Scammers use phishing techniques such as hacking into cryptocurrency companies' websites or their X and Discord accounts to redirect traffic to malicious sites. This is done under the guise of giving away free tokens and NFTs or spamming links on social media.
"Hacker attacks reach a wide range of users, but usually the community detects them fairly quickly, within 10-50 minutes," Scam Sniffer wrote.
One high-profile case is the theft of $7 million in cryptocurrency on March 11, which was caused by panic over the USDC stablecoin, which significantly underperformed the U.S. dollar, and led victims to Circle phishing sites. USDC then fell to $0.88 after Circle announced reserves at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank.
According to Scam Sniffer, peaks in phishing activity coincided with major cryptocurrency-related events, such as security breaches.
Crypto drainer Monkey stole $16 million in February, while NFT drainer Pink stole $18 million in March and continued with larger exploits in May and June, including on Orbiter Finance's Discords, LiFi, and Steve Aoki's X account.
MS Drainer, used to steal $59 million from 63,000 victims, and Angel Drainer ($20 million from 30,000 victims) were also among the most notable wallet-busting malwares used last year.
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