A chilling on-chain ghost story: 458 days after a fateful click, a crypto user watched helplessly as $908,551 vanished down a wallet-draining drain. The unwitting victim had unknowingly signed a malicious approval transaction, a ticking time bomb buried in the blockchain, waiting to detonate their digital fortune.
The victim unknowingly signed a deal with the devil. An ERC-20 approval – probably through a slick phishing site or a tempting, yet fake, airdrop – unknowingly handed the keys to their crypto kingdom to the attacker’s wallet, “0x67E5Ae.” Now, “0x67E5Ae” has a blank check to drain the victim’s account at will.
A chilling heist unfolded in the crypto world as dawn broke on August 2nd. At precisely 4:57 am UTC, the infamous pink-drainer.eth wallet, a name whispered with dread in crypto circles, struck again. This time, making off with a staggering $908,551 in USDC stablecoin. But here’s the twist: the victim unknowingly set the stage for this theft over a year prior. 458 days earlier, on April 30, 2024, they signed a seemingly innocuous phishing approval transaction, a digital booby trap waiting to be sprung. Scam Sniffer, the crypto world’s digital watchdog, sounded the alarm on X, revealing the intricate timeline of this calculated theft.
Scam Sniffer’s stark warning echoes through the crypto sphere: Unchecked permissions are open invitations for theft. Don’t let forgotten approvals drain your wallet. A regular spring cleaning could be the only thing standing between you and financial ruin.
“Your wallet security matters,” it added.
Source: Scam Sniffer
The scammer’s patience paid off
For weeks, the victim’s wallet slumbered, virtually untouched and holding mere digital pennies an unlikely target for even the most opportunistic cyber thief. Then, everything changed.
The air crackled with anticipation until, at precisely 8:41 PM UTC on July 2nd, the digital dam burst. A staggering $762,397 cascaded from the victim’s MetaMask wallet into the shadowy depths of “0x6c0eB6” a transaction that sealed their fate.
Ten minutes later, another $146,154 in USDC was transferred into the same wallet from a Kraken wallet.
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For weeks, the scammer lurked in the shadows, a digital predator patiently observing the crypto wallet. Like a spider watching its web, they monitored its every transaction, waiting for the opportune moment. Then, on August 2nd, they struck. With a single, decisive move, they drained the wallet, vanishing with the loot like a ghost in the machine.
Phishing approval attacks are a patient con artist’s game: scammers bide their time, sometimes for months, before unleashing their strike. Their target? Wallets swollen with enough crypto to make the long wait worthwhile.
Tools already exist to prevent these attacks
Worried about draining your crypto wallet? Etherscan’s Token Approval Checker is your shield. Spot suspicious permissions and one-click revoke access you no longer need. Small gas fee, massive peace of mind. Think of it as a digital bodyguard for your ETH.
July became a feeding frenzy for crypto sharks, with scams and exploits bleeding the industry for a staggering $142 million. At least 17 separate attacks ripped through the digital landscape, leaving investors reeling. The biggest bite? Crypto exchange CoinDCX, which suffered a devastating exploit, contributing the lion’s share to July’s colossal losses.
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