Crypto phishing scams drained nearly $300 mn from 320K users in 2023

San Francisco : Wallet drainers, a type of malware related to cryptocurrency, have stolen $295 million in cryptocurrencies from about 324,000 victims in 2023, a new report has revealed. According to the security platform Scam Sniffer, scammers stole almost $7 million on March 11 alone in the past year.

Most of it was due to fluctuations in USDC rates, as victims encountered phishing websites impersonating circle. "Over the past year, phishing activities have steadily increased each month with phishing scammers employing more sophisticated tactics to evade security measures," the researchers said.

On March 2 last year, the notorious cybercriminal group known as the Monkey Drainer, which was responsible for various phishing attacks, announced that it would be ceasing its operations. However, prior to shutting down, the group recommended another illegal service to its customers.

As per the reports, the Monkey Drainer managed to steal approximately $16 million worth of digital assets before closing down. Similarly, Inferno Drainer also closed down in 2023 after stealing about $81 million in digital assets.

The report also investigated how phishing sites acquire traffic. Hacking a project's official Discord and X accounts and then disseminating phishing URLs through posts is one approach crypto thieves use.

In addition, the researchers discovered that scammers were able to publish paid Google Search and X ads despite Google and X's advertising limits.