Scam Sniffer, a blockchain security platform, confirmed that more than 324,000 cryptocurrency users were scammed in 2023. Victims lost approximately $295 million in digital assets due to phishing scams and digital wallet theft.

Scam Sniffer’s “2023 Wallet Drainers Report” looked at the growing trends in phishing activities over the past year. The research highlighted a steady increase in phishing attacks on the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Scam Sniffer also pointed to the persistence of phishing bands, which continue to operate switching platforms after the closure of their previous operations. A notorious example was the closure of the infamous Monkey Drainer on 2 March. This group was responsible for major phishing scams and, before its closure, recommended a new scam service to its users. It is estimated that Monkey Drainer stole about $16 million in digital assets.

Another similar case was that of Inferno Drainer, which also closed operations in 2023 after stealing approximately $81 million in digital assets. According to the report, Angel Drainer seems to have taken over after the closure of Inferno Drainer.

The report also shed light on how phishing sites drive traffic. Cybercriminals often hack into a project’s official Discord and X accounts (formerly known as Twitter) to spread phishing links. In addition, they perform fake airdrops of cryptoassets or non-expendable tokens (NFTs), hijack expired Discord links, and leave spam comments on X.

Surprisingly, Scam Sniffer revealed that scammers have been able to circumvent Google and X’s advertising guidelines, even posting paid ads on Google Search and Twitter to promote their phishing sites. This finding underscores the sophistication and scope of phishing scams in the cryptocurrency realm in 2023.

K. Tovar

Source: Drops

(Reference image source: Unsplash+)

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