Bitrabo Editorial
A scam called the “Inferno Drainer” has targeted unsuspecting cryptocurrency users, resulting in approximately $6 million in stolen funds, according to Scam Sniffer, a company that monitors fraudulent activities online. The “Inferno Drainer” offers scammers readily available code to steal cryptocurrencies, and in exchange, the scammers provide a percentage of the stolen funds, typically around 20%, to the “Inferno Drainer”. This scam-as-a-service model uses tailored, deceptive tactics to swindle cryptocurrency holders out of large sums of money, causing them substantial losses.
1/ Inferno Drainer, a scam vendor specializing in multi-chain scams, has stolen $5.9 million in assets from nearly 4,888 victims through over 689 phishing websites targeting popular projects.
— Scam Sniffer (@realScamSniffer) May 19, 2023
The Inferno Drainer scam was discovered when a security enthusiast, known as 0xSaiyanGod, reported a con artist to Scam Sniffer’s Telegram channel after stumbling across a booster for the service. Upon receiving the report, Scam Sniffer initiated an investigation, which uncovered a drain transaction that used a vulnerability known as “Permit2,” resulting in a loss of $103,000. Scam Sniffer’s investigation found that the identified address was linked to an alarming number of phishing websites targeting victims across multiple networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, and BNB Chain, resulting in $5.9 million in stolen funds.
The increasing prevalence of scams disguised as services is a growing concern within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 7,000 reports of cryptocurrency scams in 2021, with losses totaling over $80 million. The agency has responded by offering tips, including avoiding unsolicited emails, and setting up help pages on their website and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s website.
– Feature Image by Canva; Chart by TradingView