Scammers target victims with real crypto in new address poisoning attack

Blockchain analysts alarm about a novel attack vector, where bad actors are poisoning addresses with real crypto.

Cyvers’ analysts have issued a warning about a newly identified phishing scam targeting crypto users, particularly those dealing with Ethereum (ETH). According to an X post on Feb. 15, bad actors have started sending out real ETH to potential victims in a bid to deceive them in what appears to be a new turn of evolution in the traditional concept of address poisoning attacks.

🚨ALERT🚨Our system has detected a phishing transaction with real $ETH address positioning at https://t.co/AyfUEaTt5B

Phisher poisoned victim 0.00001509 $ETH and victim copied phisher address and sent 17 $ETH $47.6K#CyversAlert https://t.co/tgyvJJJroW pic.twitter.com/cpIz0jIeTf

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) February 15, 2024

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The tactic relies on users accidentally copying a scam address, akin to the concept of address poisoning. In addition to sending real ETH, the scammers may also employ fake Tether (USDT) transactions to further lure unsuspecting individuals, Cyvers alarms. Falling prey to this scam entails sending funds to a fraudulent address, resulting in financial losses.

🚨ALERT🚨Our system has detected a phishing transaction with real $ETH address positioning at https://t.co/AyfUEaTt5B

Phisher poisoned victim 0.00001509 $ETH and victim copied phisher address and sent 17 $ETH $47.6K#CyversAlert https://t.co/tgyvJJJroW pic.twitter.com/cpIz0jIeTf

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) February 15, 2024

Of particular concern is the extensive reach of this attack. The distributed ETH has been detected across hundreds of distinct addresses, indicating a concerted effort to attack numerous addresses within the crypto ecosystem. As of press time, at least one victim has suffered losses totaling $47,600 due to this novel variant of address poisoning.

The warning comes amid a concerning trend known as address poisoning, which has recently gained traction in the cryptocurrency market. Address poisoning involves malicious actors manipulating legitimate transactions or generating fake transactions to deceive users into sending funds to fraudulent addresses.

The emergence of address poisoning as a prominent threat in the crypto space was highlighted by MetaMask developers in January 2023. Since then, the tactic has continued to evolve, posing significant risks to unsuspecting users.

Read more: Hacked vanity addresses loot $500k as controversies surround Arbitrum airdrop

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