More Than 4000 Solana Users Lost Money Because of "Fake Airdrop"

More than 4000 Solana users lost money because of “Fake Airdrop”

According to the estimates by Scam Sniffer, a Web3 anti-scam entity, in December 2023, scammers earned over 4 million USD from 4,000 wallets on the Solana network.

1/ 🚨 Over $4M in assets have been stolen by sophisticated Solana wallet drainers, and nearly 4k users have fallen victim to these phishing attacks in the past month. pic.twitter.com/qyNQthr7Wk

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) January 13, 2024

The primary scam method used is called Rainbow Drainer, where a fake airdrop is organized to trick victims into verifying transactions and inadvertently granting control of their wallets to the attackers. Leveraging technology to prevent wallets from reflecting the changed balances, hackers managed to steal 2.14 million USD from 2,189 wallets using this method.

Another prevalent scam method is called Node Drainer, where scammers utilize a Christmas campaign for a phishing attack. This form of attack yielded over 2 million USD from 1,700 individuals within a two-week span during the holiday season.

Notably, Scam Sniffer reported that one attacker’s wallet stole 1 million USD, and subsequently, they swapped USDC for ETH through AllBridge.

Unlike Ethereum, where most hacks occur due to approval-related issues, on Solana, fraudulent schemes mainly involve deceiving users into making direct transfers. Although Solana supports transaction simulation, hackers are increasingly employing sophisticated tactics to circumvent regulations and make victims more susceptible to traps.

In addition to individual users’ wallets, blockchain platforms are also in the crosshairs of hackers, but this requires more complex attack techniques. According to De.Fi’s report, the crypto industry witnessed a loss of 1.95 billion USD due to scams, hacks, and security attacks in 2023.