A shocking incident has emerged in the cryptocurrency community, with a trader reportedly falling victim to a phishing attack resulting in a staggering loss of $71 million.
The unfortunate sequence of events unfolded when the trader, in a routine transaction, created a new address labeled “0xd9A1b0B1e1aE382DbDc898Ea68012FfcB2853a91” and transferred 0.05 $ETH to this address.
The phishing attack took a cunning turn when a scammer, capitalizing on the similarity of address formats, generated an address with identical starting and ending letters and transferred 0 $ETH to it. This maneuver strategically placed the transfer in the trader’s transaction history, making it appear as if it were associated with the intended recipient.
Crazy!
Someone lost 1,155 $WBTC($71M) due to a phishing attack.
How did it happen?👇
6 hours ago, this guy created a new address" 0xd9A1b0B1e1aE382DbDc898Ea68012FfcB2853a91" and transferred 0.05 $ETH to this new address.
A scammer generated an address with the same starting… pic.twitter.com/iiFloZBTga
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 3, 2024
Compounding the issue, many wallet interfaces obscure the middle portion of addresses with ellipses to enhance user interface aesthetics, further obscuring the subtle difference between the legitimate and fraudulent addresses.
1,155 $WBTC Lost, Equivalent To $71 MillionÂ
Tragedy struck when the trader attempted to transfer 1,155 $WBTC to the newly created address, mistakenly copying the address generated by the scammer due to the visual similarity between the two addresses’ starting and ending letters.Â
This oversight proved costly as the funds, amounting to $71 million, were irretrievably transferred to the scammer’s address.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the ever-present risks associated with handling cryptocurrency transactions and underscores the importance of vigilance and thorough verification processes.Â
As the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to evolve, users must remain diligent in safeguarding their assets against increasingly sophisticated phishing and scamming tactics.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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Image Source: Max Bender/Unsplash // Image Effects by Colorcinch