We are facing the situation that is a risk for altcoins. Accordingly, members of the Forta network have discovered a new type of cryptocurrency scam called “Sleepdrop” that affects a significant number of users. The scam involves having unexpected tokens from a seemingly legitimate contract in users’ wallets. Users who do not avoid tokens issued with this type of airdrop are at great risk.
Sleepdrop scam is a danger to altcoins
The Forta network posted a tweet on Thursday warning of the Sleepdrop. According to Forta, this scam is very different. It works by imitating the appearance of a real token, using a technique similar to the “sleepminting” of NFTs. However, bad actors specifically target ERC-20 tokens. Scammers have so far forged the tokens of Uniswap, Chainlink, Lido, Circle and others. Scammers are airdropping fake altcoins to multiple people to fool unsuspecting users. With this transfer done, the tokens appear to come directly from the real contract.
After users connect their wallets to the website, they sign a transaction that appears to be connecting them to a decentralized application (Dapp). However, unbeknownst to users, this transaction actually calls the binding function of the contract and results in the transfer of ETH in a small amount of altcoins. The scammers then use an ice phishing attack to trick victims into replacing their new token with the main legitimate token. Also, the smart contract steals ETH from the victim’s wallet.
Reward for detecting sleepdropping
Forta was the first to notice the scam. Forta is a Web3 security solution and a real-time detection network that monitors blockchain activity. The network consists of a decentralized network of independent node operators who scan transactions and block changes for potential threats. Since the discovery, the Forta community has compiled a list of Sleepdropper addresses and risky scam URLs. On Friday, it announced a bounty for detecting Sleepdropping. The Forta Foundation will cover the initial Bot deployment costs, including staking. The reward will be paid as FORT tokens within altcoins.
Ivan Spanier, a member of the Forta Foundation and who discovered the Sleepdrop scam, made a statement on the subject. According to Spanier, this is a “uniquely sneaky” scam. The Spanier also emphasizes:
Interacting with a Sleepdrop contract almost always results in the draining of native tokens in all cases. To be clear, airdrops should always be requested from verified contracts and official sites. Users should under no circumstances interact with such airdrop tokens, even if they appear to be sent by the official team.
Crypto crimes still less than 1% of total volume
This new type of attack is just one of many tricks scammers use to steal your altcoins. But despite the constantly emerging threats, you are still relatively safe. The results are interesting, according to the 2023 Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report. Accordingly, the volume of illegal transactions reached a record level of $20.6 billion in 2022.
When we look at Kriptokoin.com, this figure marks the second consecutive year of growth despite the decline in the market. However, it is important to note that illegal activities in the cryptocurrency space represent less than 1% of the total transaction volume. Also, while there has been a significant increase this year, the crypto-related crime rate is actually decreasing in the long run.
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