Crypto Phishing To Take Nearly 300 Million From 324,000 Victims By 2023: Report

In the year In 2023, more than 324,000 crypto users fell victim to phishing scams, with nearly $295 million worth of digital assets lost to pickpockets.

In its “2023 Wallet Drainers Report,” blockchain security platform Scam Sniffer analyzed trends around drains used in crypto phishing scams. The platform showed continued growth in fishing activities in 2023.

In addition, Scam Sniffer also reports that even when the sewers are closed, “phishing groups” take their business elsewhere, due to the lack of platforms for scammers to serve.

On March 2, the notorious monkey drainer, responsible for some of the most notorious phishing exploits, shut down his business — but not before recommending a different scam service to his criminal clients. Scam Sniffer estimated that Monkey Drainer stole about $16 million worth of digital assets before it was shut down.

Similarly, Inferno Drainer was shut down in 2023 after stealing nearly $81 million worth of digital assets. According to Scam Sniffer, Angel Drainer seems to have taken over after Inferno Drainer shut down.

Meanwhile, Scam Sniffer also analyzes how phishing sites get traffic. One method that crypto thieves employ is to hack the project's official Discord and X (formerly Twitter) accounts and distribute phishing links through posts.

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Phishing websites get organic traffic by making fake airdrops of crypto assets or non-perishable tokens (NFTs). They also monitor expired Discord links and spam comments and mentions on X.

Scammers also managed to bypass Google and X's advertising guidelines, Scam Sniffer said; It has been reported that phishing sites are able to publish paid Google search and Twitter ads.

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