Phishing fraudster Monkey Drainer has stolen up to $1 million in Ethereum.
This week, it was claimed that a phishing scammer using the pseudonym Monkey Drainer stole about $1 million worth of Ether (ETH tickers down $1,510) via shady imitation non-fungible token (NFT) minting websites.
One of the first to observe and report the action was well-known blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, who wrote on October 26 that “The two biggest victims over the last day include 0x02a & 0x626 who lost $370k combined through signing transactions on dangerous phishing sites.”
Longer term, Monkey Drainer is believed to have stolen more than $3.5 million through their schemes, with “that sum fast increasing by each day,” the blockchain fraud investigator continued.
Phishing scams sometimes include criminals disseminating links to websites that pose as legitimate initiatives or businesses in an effort to trick users into divulging private information by promising an exciting purchasing opportunity or a no-cost promotion.
Monkey Drainer has been associated with four specific addresses, including the monkey-drainer.eth address.
The blockchain-based Web3 security network Chainabuse now displays a lengthy series of reports pertaining to airdrop frauds, NFT scams, and phishing assaults when searching these addresses.
A handful of the reported cases are phony Aptos Airdrops, a false Wolf Game, Bored Ape Yacht Club marketplace, and airdrop frauds via the Astrobot Society discord channel.
Web3 security neighborhood Additionally, in response to ZachXBT’s Twitter thread, Wallet Guard mentioned that it had “seen multiple other mint sites recently constructed” using Monkey Drainer on the backend, including a phishing website that claimed to be a Garbage Friends whitelist link.
Over the past few years, ZachXBT has established himself as a reputable independent blockchain investigator and exposed numerous instances of criminal activity in the industry.
Christophe Durand, the deputy head of France’s national cyber unit, acknowledged ZachXBT’s efforts earlier this month for aiding authorities in locating five people accused of using phishing to steal NFTs valued at $2.5 million.