A crypto investor has been hit hard after falling for a devious address scam, losing a jaw-dropping $70 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).
The incident, which played out over around six hours, has rocked the crypto world and serves as a stern warning about being extremely careful when dealing with digital money.
According to reports, the investor created a new crypto wallet address and transferred a small amount of Ethereum (ETH) to fund it, a common move in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space to cover future transaction fees.
However, unaware to the investor, a scammer had been watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Using a sneaky technique called address poisoning, the scammer made an address that had the same starting and ending characters as the investor’s new address. Many crypto wallets hide the middle part of addresses for a cleaner look, making it easier for users to miss subtle differences.
In a crafty move, the scammer transferred zero ETH to the investor, causing their fake address to show up in the investor’s transaction history. When the investor tried to transfer their 1,155 WBTC holdings, worth around $70 million, they accidentally copied the scammer’s carefully constructed address, thinking it was their own.
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