Originally published on: September 28, 2024
A recent phishing attack targeted a wallet ending in “e57” on Sept. 27, resulting in the loss of 12,083 Spark Wrapped Ethereum tokens (spWETH) valued at $32 million. The security firm CertiK reported that 10,000 spWETH tokens, worth around $26 million, were initially transferred to a wallet starting with “0x471c.” Subsequently, a portion of these funds was moved to four other wallets.
Specifically, 1,750 Ether was sent to a wallet beginning with “0x105c,” 2,613 ETH to a wallet starting with “0x278d,” another 3,730 ETH to an address starting with “0x408d,” and roughly 1,865 ETH to an address beginning with “0xfaf2.”
While investigations suggest that the compromised wallet may belong to F2Pool founder Shixing Mao, this information has not been confirmed. This incident adds to the rising number of crypto phishing attacks, with August 2024 alone seeing a 215% increase. Security firm Scam Sniffer’s findings show that total losses from these attacks exceeded $66 million that month, with one victim losing $55 million in a single phishing scam targeting proxy ownership.
Moreover, a September 2024 report from Blockaid highlighted an upgraded phishing software called AngelX, which rapidly deployed over 300 phishing decentralized applications (DApps) within four days. This upgraded software is designed to target newer blockchain networks like The Open Network and Tron, equipped with advanced features that enhance the sophistication of phishing scams.
In another alarming discovery, a report from Scam Sniffer in September also exposed fraudulent Etherscan sites being displayed on search engine DuckDuckGo. These malicious links trick users into connecting MetaMask wallets, giving hackers access to their funds once connected.
As cyber threats in the crypto space continue to evolve, users must remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to safeguard their digital assets from these sophisticated phishing attacks.
