Crypto phishing losses continued their downward trend for the third consecutive month in February, falling 48% to $5.32 million from $10.25 million in January and $23.58 million in December, according to ScamSniffer data.
In a March 5 X thread, the blockchain security platform reported that 7,442 victims fell prey to phishing scams in February, down from 9,220 in January. The most significant losses resulted from targeted attacks, with scammers employing increasingly sophisticated methods to exploit unsuspecting users.
Address poisoning scams, where attackers manipulate transaction histories to trick users into transferring funds to fraudulent addresses, accounted for $771,000 in Ethereum (ETH) losses. A permit scam drained $611,000 from another victim, while unrevoked phishing approvals on BNB Chain led to a $610,000 loss. Additionally, an “IncreaseApproval” attack, which deceives users into raising token spending limits for malicious contracts, resulted in a $326,000 loss.
ScamSniffer analysts highlighted a case in which a victim lost over $607,000 due to a phishing approval signed more than a year ago. They urged users to revoke outdated approvals, particularly while Ethereum gas fees remain low, to prevent similar exploits.
Despite the decline in total losses, analysts suggested that the drop could indicate improved security awareness or a decrease in successful attacks. However, high-value scams continue to pose a significant threat.
Meanwhile, broader crypto losses in February surged to $1.53 billion—an 18-fold increase from the same period last year—primarily driven by the $1.46 billion Bybit hack. A research report by blockchain security firm Immunefi revealed that most of these losses stemmed from just two incidents: Bybit’s massive breach and a $49.5 million attack on stablecoin bank Infini.
Looking back at December 2024, over 25 crypto hacks resulted in $24.69 million in losses, marking a 70% decline from November. The largest attack targeted LastPass, which lost $12.38 million, while Yeti Finance, GemPad, and FEG each lost $2.2 million. December’s losses were among the lowest of the year, in stark contrast to April’s peak of $574.65 million.
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