Scammers are pretending to be naive crypto users who post the seed phrase to a loaded-up wallet online in a scheme that swipes crypto from those trying to raid it.
“Scammers have invented a new trick — they post crypto wallet seed phrases in YouTube comments using newly created accounts,” cybersecurity firm Kaspersky analyst Mikhail Sytnik said in a Dec. 23 blog post.
The researcher found comments in finance-related videos from users asking how to transfer Tether (USDT) from a crypto wallet to another wallet, which shared a seed phrase.
The wallet seen by Sytnik contained around $8,000 in USDT on the Tron network as bait. A thief wanting to move the USDT would first need to send a small amount of the blockchain’s native token, TRON (TRX), to the bait wallet to pay for network fees.
When the would-be thief transfers TRX to the bait wallet for the fees, that TRX is immediately sent to a different wallet controlled by the scammers, as the bait wallet has been set up as a multisignature wallet requiring multiple approvals for outgoing transactions.
“To authorize outgoing transactions in such wallets, approval from two or more people is required,” Sytnik explained. “So transferring USDT to a personal wallet won’t work — even after paying the ‘commission.’”
“In this scenario, the scammers are something like digital Robin Hoods, as the scheme primarily targets other crooked individuals.”
List of transactions detailing the scammer’s earnings. Source: Kaspersky
The researcher advised people never to try to access other people’s crypto wallets, even if given the seed phrase, and to be wary of online strangers’ claims about cryptocurrency.
Related: Crypto thieves score big on centralized services, private keys in 2024
Scammers looking to scam other scammers is nothing new in crypto.
In July, Kaspersky revealed a more sophisticated scam targeting greedy individuals that involved baiting them on Telegram with links that led to legitimate crypto exchanges and traps disguised as exposed files that could be exploited.
This longer con was aimed at installing malware to potentially steal much more data and assets from the victim’s computer.
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