Crypto Scammers Pocket $60 Million from 20 Victims by phishing signatures

Crypto scammers have increased in the first half of 2024. The con artists manage to extract up to $60 million from 20 victims. The total worth of crypto that was taken through scams was $314 million, up 6.44% from the same period the year before. This represents a concerning trend in the sector, as unscrupulous actors persist in leveraging the users weaknesses for financial profit.

Detailed Insights into the Crypto Scammer ploy

Scam Sniffer data shows that phishing scams have proven to be highly profitable, netting scammers over $300 million across various EVM chains. About 260,000 people were the subject of these scams, highlighting the widespread nature of the issue.

Among the alarming statistics, scammers managed to siphon off approximately $58 million from just 20 victims. One victim alone lost $11 million, ranking as one of the largest individual losses in the history of crypto theft. Scam Sniffer attributes these incidents to the exploitation of phishing techniques involving signatures like Permit, IncreaseAllowance and Uniswap Permit2. These methods allow scammers to seize control over victims’ assets without requiring further permission.

Victims are typically lured through phishing comments on social media platforms and forums, leading them to malicious websites where they unwittingly execute transactions from their non-custodial wallets. This method allows scammers to gain control over victims’ funds, exploiting their trust and lack of awareness about security risks.

In response to these escalating threats, efforts to combat crypto fraud have intensified. SlowMist, the parent company of Scam Sniffer, reported freezing approximately $20.66 million in stolen funds across multiple platforms in Q2 alone. This underscores the ongoing battle against private key leakage, phishing, and other forms of fraudulent activities plaguing the industry.

Bitget’s most recent research adds to the intricacy by showing an increase in deepfake-related crypto fraud, with losses above $79.1 billion since 2022. According to predictions, the quarterly losses might reach $10 billion by 2025. In 2024 alone, losses increased by a staggering 245% due to the popularity of deep-fake technology.

Final Thoughts

Even though the crypto sector presents innovative opportunities, there is always a risk of fraud, especially from crypto scammers. Vigilance and proactive steps are crucial to protecting assets in this quickly changing digital ecosystem as stakeholders strive to improve security processes and increase user awareness.