On November 20, 2024, a cryptocurrency whale narrowly escaped a potential loss of $129 million USDT due to a phishing scam on the TRON blockchain. The incident, reported by blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer, involved a fraudulent wallet address that closely resembled the intended recipient's address.
The scammer used a fake address, "THc...bu8," which mimicked the original "TMS...bu8". The victim, unable to spot the subtle differences, mistakenly transferred the substantial amount to the wrong address after a test transaction of 100 USDT.
In an unexpected turn, the fraudster returned 90% of the stolen funds—116.7 million USDT—within an hour, followed by the remaining 12.96 million USDT after four hours. The victim then redirected the funds to the correct address.
This incident illustrates a growing trend of address-poisoning attacks, where scammers create nearly identical wallet addresses to exploit user errors. CertiK reported that such phishing tactics, along with wallet drainers, have resulted in over $800 million in crypto asset losses this year.
Yu Xian, founder of web3 firm Slowmist, warned users about the risks associated with copying sensitive information and advised them to clear clipboard data after use. This case underscores the increasing sophistication of crypto phishing scams and the critical need for users to double-check wallet addresses before transactions.