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Low Ethereum Fees Spur Address-Poisoning Surge as Two Victims Lose $62 Million

Cheaper post-Fusaka transactions have made mass dusting profitable for scammers.

Overview

  • ScamSniffer says one user lost about $50 million in December and another lost roughly $12.25 million in January after copying lookalike addresses planted in their transaction histories.
  • Signature-based phishing drained $6.27 million from roughly 4,700 wallets in January, a 207% jump from December, with two wallets accounting for about 65% of the losses.
  • Address poisoning exploits routine habits as attackers send tiny dust transfers from vanity lookalikes so victims later copy the wrong address shown in wallet history.
  • Trackers cite roughly 270 million poisoning attempts across Ethereum and BSC targeting about 17 million addresses, with Coin Metrics observing extensive sub‑penny stablecoin updates consistent with mass dusting.
  • Wallets are adding defenses such as pre‑execution simulations and clearer phishing warnings—Rabby and MetaMask were highlighted—while security firms urge users to verify full addresses and use saved contacts.