In the cryptocurrency industry, phishing schemes are becoming a real menace. Cybercriminals are improving themselves with the single goal of draining cryptocurrency wallets of millions in dollar value.
Several cryptocurrency news outlets reported on Thursday that the infamous fraudster “Monkey Drainer” had stolen 700 ETH, nearly $1 million, in the previous day, according to a self-described crypto investigator on social media going by the handle ZackXBT.
According to ZackXBT, two of the greatest victims from this trick were wallets with the last digits 0x02a and 0x626; they each lost more than $370,000.
Particularly, 0x626 has lost cryptocurrency assets worth around $220,000, including Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Tether, and well-known sports NFTs.
Big Loot From Phishing Scam
The second victim reportedly lost 36,000 USDC, one Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection, one CloneX, and twelve more NFTs for around $150,000.
Monkey Drainer has been successful in defrauding a sizable number of individuals during the last several weeks. The investigator discovered that the worth of the cryptos stolen in total topped $3.5 million and is continually increasing.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission describes phishing as a kind of online fraud that preys on customers by sending emails that seem to come from trustworthy companies like internet service providers (ISPs), financial institutions, or even tax collection agencies.
Also read:The email requests personal data from the receiver. According to the FTC, the data is then utilized to access the consumer’s existing accounts or create new ones.
Cybercriminals Were Very Active This Year
2022 has been challenging for the crypto-related business on all fronts, including the activities of hackers. Telegram, Discord, and Twitter have become significant venues for cryptocurrency scammers.
Over the last several years, ZachXBT has established a solid reputation as an independent blockchain inspector, exposing many illegal activities in the cryptocurrency industry.
For example, a blockchain analysis company called CertiK found roughly 300 phishing attempts, a 170% increase from the 106 discovered in the first quarter of this year.
Monkey Drainer Still At Large
Christophe Durand, deputy chief of France’s national cyber unit, complimented ZachXBT for assisting in detecting the phishing schemes used by five people accused of stealing NFTs worth $2.5 million earlier this month.
However, when the news was made available, the Monkey Drainer crew used automated bots to flood and spam almost all crypto-related Twitter comment threads.
While various initiatives are aimed at educating people about phishing operations, offenders continue to conduct their dirty job, leaving investors with severe losses, if not empty pockets.
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