Popular Ethereum wallet MetaMask has warned about a newly emerging crypto scam.
MetaMask has previously worked with recovery specialist Asset Reality to recover lost assets from victims of crypto fraud and phishing attacks. The crypto wallet was later on the agenda due to the MetaMask privacy policy, while it was the target of scammers. In this regard, the meticulous developer warned its users against a new type of scam.
Warning Against Address Poisoning Scam from MetaMask
MetaMask has shared a warning to the crypto community about a new type of scam called Address Poisoning.
According to the post of crypto wallet MetaMask on Twitter; Address Poisoning, users wallet number is replaced by hacker’s wallet via virus. One of the highlights here is that wallet numbers are used in a similar way.
They use an address with the same first & last few characters as the real transaction you sent; in hopes you will not check the full address, and instead copy theirs in a future txn. (2/3) – More detail here: https://t.co/xGxNgRX4WM)
— MetaMask Support (@MetaMaskSupport) January 11, 2023
The scam, called Address Poisoning, works like this:
After you send a normal transaction, the scammer ‘poisons’ the txn history by sending a $0 txn. Hackers are using an address with the same first and last few characters as the actual transaction you sent. They hope you won’t check the exact address and instead copy theirs in a future post. This causes unaware users to actually use the hacker’s wallet in the second transaction.
MetaMask’s main anti-fraud recommendations are to double-check the full address or use the Address Book feature.
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