Address poisoning recently cost 2 victims over $62M alone: Scam Sniffer

Just 1 unfortunate mislaid $12.2 cardinal successful January by copying the incorrect code from their transaction past successful an “address poisoning attack,” adding to a akin $50 cardinal onslaught successful December, according to Scam Sniffer.

Address poisoning is erstwhile attackers nonstop tiny transactions oregon “dust” from addresses that look akin to ones successful the target’s transaction history, hoping the unfortunate volition transcript the incorrect address.

Scam Sniffer added that signature phishing besides surged recently, with $6.27 cardinal stolen from 4,741 victims successful January, a 207% summation compared to December.

Two wallets accounted for 65% of each signature phishing losses.

Signature phishing is somewhat antithetic arsenic it tricks users into signing malicious blockchain transactions, specified arsenic unlimited token approvals.

Address poisoning and signature phishing attacks person accrued successful January: Source: Scam Sniffer

Address poisoning inclination not slowing down 

“Address poisoning is 1 of the astir accordant ways ample amounts of crypto get lost,” reported information steadfast Web3 Antivirus connected Thursday.

Some of the biggest code poisoning losses it tracked implicit clip ranged from $4 cardinal to $126 million. “Recent incidents amusement this inclination isn’t slowing down,” they stated. 

Related: Stablecoin ‘dust’ txs connected Ethereum triple post-Fusaka: Coin Metrics

The researchers explained that code poisoners “generate afloat addresses that lucifer the aforesaid first/last fewer characters you see, but the mediate is different, truthful it looks ‘identical.’” 

Dust attacks connected Ethereum person surged 

Analysts speculate that the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade successful December has contributed to the increase successful attacks due to the fact that it made the web cheaper to usage successful presumption of transaction costs. 

Stablecoin-related particulate enactment is present estimated to marque up 11% of each Ethereum transactions and 26% of progressive addresses connected an mean day, reported Coin Metrics earlier successful February. 

The steadfast analyzed implicit 227 cardinal equilibrium updates for stablecoin wallets connected Ethereum from November 2025 done January 2026, uncovering that 38% were nether a azygous penny — “consistent with millions of wallets receiving tiny poisoning deposits,” it stated. 

Blockchain quality steadfast Whitestream reported connected Sunday that the decentralized DAI stablecoin “has gained a estimation arsenic a preferred stablecoin for illicit actors, serving arsenic a ‘parking place’ for illegally sourced funds.”

“This is owed to the protocol’s governance, which does not cooperate with authorities successful freezing DAI wallets,” it stated, referencing caller code poisoning attacks. 

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