According to the annual report from web3 security firm Scam Sniffer, phishing scams will have stolen approximately $300 million worth of cryptocurrencies from 320,000 investors in 2023.
Phishing fraud is one of the most common means of attack against the emerging industry and has resulted in the loss of millions of funds. In one incident, these scammers stole $24.23 million worth of Ethereum with a liquid stake, including 4,851 rETH (worth $8.58 million) and 9,579 stETH ($15.63 million).
Wallet drainers predominate
According to the report, malicious actors have used wallet snatchers to orchestrate these phishing attacks.
Wallet drainers are usually embedded in phishing websites, tricking unsuspecting individuals into authorizing malicious transactions that would enable the theft of their digital assets from their cryptocurrency wallets.
ScamSniffer’s comprehensive analysis identified six prominent wallet drain service providers, including Inferno, MS, Angel, Monkey Drainer, Venom Drainer, Pink Drainer, and Pussy Drainer.
The Inferno Drainer emerged as the top player among these scammers, facilitating the theft of $81 million from 134,000 users over nine months. The crypto wallet drain kit operator ceased operations in November 2023.
Similarly, MS Drainer and Angel Drainer took advantage of this trend, stealing $59 million from 63,000 users and $20 million from 30,000 victims, respectively.
Another prominent player, Monkey Drainer, stole $16 million from 18,000 people. The company was closed in March last year.
These Wallet Drainer service providers earned at least $47 million from their 20% drainer fee.
Tactics of phishing scammers
Scam Sniffer revealed several methods used by the attackers including hacking attacks, organic and paid traffic strategies.
Attackers infiltrate projects’ official social media accounts or manipulate their front-end and libraries. Tactics like spam mentions, Twitter comments, fake airdrops, expired Discord links, and paid ads on Google Search and Twitter drive traffic, which often escapes detection compared to blatant hacking attempts.
It is imperative to note that the chosen phishing attack method depends on the contents of the victim’s wallet.
Scam Sniffer said it scanned nearly 12 million URLs during the reporting period, discovering approximately 145,000 malicious URLs. Currently, the company’s blacklist contains approximately 100,000 malicious domains, indicating the scale of the ongoing threat.
