Crypto phishing scams took almost $300M from 324K victims in 2023: Report

Over 324,000 crypto users fell victim to phishing scams in 2023, with around $295 million in digital assets lost to wallet drainers.

In its “2023 Wallet Drainers Report,” blockchain security platform Scam Sniffer analyzed the trends surrounding drainers used in crypto phishing scams. The platform highlighted that there was continued growth in phishing activities throughout 2023. 

In addition, Scam Sniffer also reported that even when drainers close down, “phishing gangs” just take their business elsewhere, as there seems to be no lack of platforms providing services for scammers. 

On March 2, the infamous Monkey Drainer, responsible for some high-profile phishing exploits, closed its business — but not before recommending a different scam service to its criminal clientele. Scam Sniffer estimated that Monkey Drainer stole around $16 million in digital assets before closing down.

Similarly, Inferno Drainer also closed down in 2023 after stealing about $81 million in digital assets. According to Scam Sniffer, Angel Drainer seems to have taken over after Inferno Drainer closed down. 

Meanwhile, Scam Sniffer also analyzed how phishing sites get traffic. One method crypto thieves employ is hacking a project’s official Discord and X (formerly Twitter) accounts and then spreading phishing links through posts. 

Related: Redditors report deepfake Ripple scam on YouTube

Phishing websites get organic traffic by conducting fake airdrops of crypto assets or nonfungible tokens (NFTs). They also take over expired Discord links and leave spam comments and mentions on X. 

In addition, scammers have managed to bypass Google’s and X’s advertising guidelines, according to Scam Sniffer, which reported that phishing websites have been able to publish paid Google Search and Twitter ads.

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