Etherscan, a prominent blockchain explorer has become a breeding ground for deceptive phishing scam advertisements, raising security concerns for cryptocurrency users. Investigations initiated by an X user McBiblets have brought to light a concerning trend of malicious advertisements circulating on Etherscan which are identified as potential threats.
They have raised red flags for users warning them of possible redirection to phishing websites upon interaction. Clicking on such an ad redirects the user to a fraudulent website designed to mimic a real cryptocurrency platform. Once there, users are prompted to link their crypto wallets unknowingly granting scammers access to steal their digital assets.
Further probing into this alarming development by the Web3 anti-scam platform, Scam Sniffer has revealed that the problem goes beyond Etherscan. Cybercriminals have been using phishing ads to scam people on various platforms such as Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and social media. This is a widespread issue that poses a significant threat to unsuspecting users’ trust and naivety. Scam Sniffer attributes this surge in phishing scams to the inadequate filtering mechanisms employed by advertisement aggregators like Coinzilla and Persona.
In recent times, there has been an alarming increase in a type of scam that involves tricking people into visiting fake websites. This scam is known as the “wallet drainer” scheme. The scammers behind this scheme convince people to connect their crypto wallets to these fake websites. Once connected, the scammers steal funds from the wallets without the user’s consent.
This has raised concerns about the lack of oversight from advertisement aggregators. The absence of effective filtering mechanisms has allowed these scams to spread rapidly, putting unsuspecting users at risk of losing their money.
The group believed to be behind these scams is called Angel Drainer and despite efforts to stop them they continue to operate. This highlights the urgent need for better security measures and for users to stay alert to the dangers of scams within the cryptocurrency world.
