TL;DR
- “Address Poisoning” attacks have led to losses of $1.2 million in March, highlighting the growing problem of phishing scams in cryptocurrencies.
- This type of fraud involves sending small transactions to victims with addresses similar to those they frequently use, tricking them into transferring funds to scammers.
- The lack of pre-transaction security measures is one of the main causes of the increase in these frauds, according to Cyvers CEO Deddy Lavid.
“Address Poisoning” scams have impacted the Ethereum community in March, with losses reaching $1.2 million. This fraud method, which has been gaining notoriety in recent months, is based on manipulating users’ habits when copying and pasting wallet addresses in their transactions. Blockchain security firm Cyvers has warned about the rise of these attacks and highlighted the need to implement better verification mechanisms before sending funds.
How “Address Poisoning” Scams Work
Attackers send minimal transactions to victims’ addresses using identifiers similar to those they frequently use. As a result, when users search their transaction history for an address to send funds to, they may mistakenly select the scammer’s address and transfer money unknowingly. This method has been particularly effective due to the implicit trust many users place in their transaction history.
This type of fraud is not new, but it has gained greater relevance due to the increased volume of transactions on Ethereum, driven by the current crypto bull market. In February, losses from these types of attacks reached $1.8 million, indicating a worrying and persistent trend.
Solutions and Preventive Measures
According to Deddy Lavid, co-founder and CEO of Cyvers, one of the main issues is the lack of pre-transaction verification tools. Unlike traditional banking systems, many crypto wallets and platforms do not have real-time mechanisms to detect fraudulent addresses before funds are sent. Implementing solutions such as verifying trusted addresses and double confirmation could significantly reduce the impact of these scams.
The Cyvers report also notes that phishing attacks, in general, have caused multimillion-dollar losses for the industry in 2024, with cases such as an investor who mistakenly transferred $71 million in Wrapped Bitcoin to a fraudulent address in May. However, in a rare turn of events, the attacker returned the funds days later due to pressure from the community and blockchain investigators.
While these attacks pose a growing threat, the crypto community has proven to be resilient, developing innovative solutions to protect against scammers. The adoption of verification tools and user education will be absolutely key to effectively preventing this type of fraud from continuing to rise.
