- Inferno Drainer DApps hit 40,000 by July 2024, tripling amid rising crypto scams.
- Weekly creation of malicious DApps using Inferno Drainer has increased from 800 to 2,400.
- The rising number of scams are linked to bullish markets and new blockchain vulnerabilities.
As the cryptocurrency market experiences bullish trends, there has been a major increase in the usage of Inferno Drainer which is a notorious phishing tool. This surge is raising concerns among both security experts and cryptocurrency investors.
Increased Deployment of Inferno Drainer
According to the latest data from Blockaid, a prominent Web3 security firm, the number of decentralized applications (DApps) utilizing Inferno Drainer has tripled. By the end of July 2024, the tally of these malicious DApps reached an alarming 40,000. Oz Tamir, the research and development lead at Blockaid, highlighted a threefold increase in the creation of new malicious DApps per week, skyrocketing from 800 to 2,400.
Crypto Drainers and Market Vulnerabilities
Inferno Drainer, which had reportedly shut down in 2023 after facilitating the theft of approximately $70 million, has resurfaced more active than ever before. This resurgence comes as Pink Drainer, a similar phishing tool, ceases operations, prompting scammers to switch to available alternatives like Inferno. These drainers operate by tricking users into signing token approvals, which then allows scammers to siphon funds from their crypto wallets.
Correlation with Bull Market
The spike in scam activities is closely tied to the current bullish conditions in the cryptocurrency market. As more users and capital enter the ecosystem, attackers find more opportunities to deploy new, novel attacks. Tamir also pointed out that attackers are targeting new blockchain deployments, which often have weaker security measures, viewing them as ripe for exploitation.
BlackRock Warns Investors of Rising Crypto Scams Amid Ethereum ETF LaunchThe sudden rise in the usage of Inferno Drainer highlights the ongoing security challenges within the cryptocurrency space. As the market continues to grow, so does the sophistication and number of phishing schemes aimed at unsuspecting users.
Security firm Blockaid has recently shared a rise in Solana-based drainer attacks. Interestingly, the website lessfeesndgas[.]org managed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Solana Program Library (SPL) tokens and SOL.