Phishing Scam Victim Transfers Staggering $4.5M in USDT to Scammer
Massive $4.5M Phishing Scam Unveiled
An unsuspecting cryptocurrency holder has fallen prey to a staggering $4.46 million phishing scam, with the funds initially withdrawn from a Kraken crypto exchange wallet and eventually landing in an address linked to a notorious phishing scammer.
#PeckShieldAlert The address 0x2175...f7D9 got scammed for 4.46M $USDT
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 21, 2023
Victim's address: 0x2175c0082d052872501f7fe54e1aC59858aaf7D9
Scammer's address: 0xAbb07822F471773Ff00b9444308ceEB7cf0dACa7 pic.twitter.com/Ny9CIrkBxw
Kraken Exchange Compromised
The incident began when $4.46 million worth of Tether (USDT) was withdrawn from a Kraken cryptocurrency exchange wallet, setting off a chain of transactions that ultimately led to an address identified by blockchain security firm PeckShield as belonging to a phishing scammer.
Fake Coinone Mining Exchange Connection
someone withdrew $4.46 million from Kraken to a fake Coinone crypto-mining exchange about 1 hour ago.https://t.co/ued55jlWdM pic.twitter.com/tsV5BGDY0O
— Scam Sniffer (@realScamSniffer) September 20, 2023
Reports from blockchain scam monitoring platform Scam Sniffer indicated that the funds were sent to an address associated with a fictitious Coinone crypto mining exchange. This revelation sheds light on the sophistication of the phishing scheme.
Rising Phishing Scams in Crypto
Data shared by Scam Sniffer through a user-generated Dune Analytics dashboard highlighted the alarming trend of phishing scams. Scammers have managed to siphon approximately $337.1 million in USDT, affecting over 21,953 individuals.