Your preferred cryptocurrency projects on the most prominent blockchains are likely the target.
What, though, is Inferno Drainer?
According to Scam Sniffer, a website that specialises in detecting scams, the dangerous software vendor is allegedly connected to thousands of schemes that have stolen several million dollars.
The security company found 4,888 victims who lost over $5.9 million in cryptocurrencies and NFTs by examining off-chain and on-chain data on Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, and other chains.
According to reports, 1,699 ETH totalling 300 and 400 apiece, were distributed over five distinct addresses.
When a potential Inferno Drainer member going by the name of “Mr Inferno” showed up in a Scam Sniffer’s Telegram group, the scope of these scams became apparent. Â
The outcome was the discovery of a website promoting the services of the fraudulent individual. Decrypt was informed by Scam Sniffer that they offer a solution which scans Web3 platforms for malicious websites, allowing them to identify numerous risky sites. The connection between these websites was established with the help of the Telegram channel.
Acoording to reports, the con artist demands 20% to 30% of the assets that have been stolen in return for their dangerous software, which is used to build fake websites.Â
Since March 27, Inferno is said to have produced a total of almost 689 phishing websites. “This is the data we have based on the on-chain activity, but it could have started earlier,” Scam Sniffer said to Decrypt.Â
They claimed that it might be considered a “malware-as-a-service” product. They charge solely based on the value of the stolen money and give the software and hosting for the malicious websites.
This wallet, whose contents were worth almost $400,000, is the victim who has experienced the highest losses.Â
Scam Sniffer claims that the victim tried to reason with the con artist by offering to give them 50% of the stolen goods in exchange for a settlement.
Scam Sniffer discovered Venom Drainer, a similar “Scam as a Service”, last month. It robbed 15k victims of $27M, with the top 5 losing a combined $14M. Around 170 brands were the target of 530 phishing websites.
What initiatives are being pursued?
The most well-known companies in the cryptocurrency ecosystem include Pepe and Collab. Land, zkSync, MetaMask, and Nakamigos, were among those the scammers attacked.Â
About 220 brands are thought to have been utilized to trick customers.
Even in a down market, cryptocurrency frauds are still common. According to a new survey by Crystal Blockchain, 2022 was the worst year ever for cryptocurrency fraud, with 120 distinct occurrences being documented.Â
In comparison to 2021, this figure reflects an increase of 28%.
But the total amount lost across all events in 2022 was less than half of what was stolen in all cryptocurrency scams in 2021, which totalled $4.6 billion. This can probably be attributed to the prolonged bear market in May.
According to the same survey, Decentralised Finance (DeFi) breaches are currently the most prevalent crypto attack.
