A crypto investor has lost $4.46 million worth of assets in a USDT approval mining scam. According to a report from blockchain security platform Scam Sniffer, this crypto scam happened one minute after the investor withdrew 4.46 million USDT from the Kraken exchange.
Using data from EtherScan, Scam Sniffer also discovered that scammers targeted their victims with a fake wallet address that was manipulated to look as if it was from the Coinone cryptocurrency mining exchange.
Meanwhile, PeckShield, another blockchain security firm, has provided more insight into this recent crypto scam. peckshield reports Scammers have already swapped all USDT tokens for the DAI stablecoin via the TokenLoan decentralized exchange.
Next, these bad actors began dividing the loot by sending over 1 million DAI to four different wallet addresses.
Over $337 Million Lost in USDT Approval Mining Scam – Dune Analytics
According to a report from Dune Analytics, USDT approval mining scams are evolving into a crypto epidemic, bringing more people into the crypto sphere than trustworthy crypto businesses.
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Similar to most scams, USDT approval mining scams usually begin with bad actors sending “innocuous” messages to their targets via email or other online platforms.
Following the response to this message, these scammers will now attempt to build a relationship with their targeted victims as they slowly introduce them to a “flashy lifestyle” funded by crypto assets.
Sometimes, they may spend months making these efforts to build trust before finally convincing their victims to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.
Based on more information from this report, scammers have now stolen more than $337.08 million from 21,953 victims through USDT approval mining scams, an average of $21,953 per victim.
The first recorded transaction involving this type of scam occurred on September 23, 2021, the report said. Since then, Dune Analytics says there have been 49,427 USDT approval mining scam transactions with an average of $6,820 stolen per transaction.
Crypto Scams Still a Growing Threat
In other news, crypto scams, in general, still remain a major issue for all investors and enthusiasts. More recently, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban lost approximately $870,000 worth of assets after unknowingly linking to a phishing link.
Related Reading: Thailand authorities bust $27 million crypto scam, over 3,200 victims affected
In August, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao also posted on X, alerting crypto users about the growing intelligence of scammers in the crypto community.
The Binance boss addressed a specific type of scam known as zero-transfer phishing attacks, and advised users on the best methods of prevention and asset recovery.
The total crypto market value on the hourly chart is $1.048 trillion. Source: Total Chart on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Business Insider, chart from TradingView
Source: bitcoinist.com
