Inferno Drainer emerges as a devious phishing scam wreaking havoc in the Crypto World
In the unforgiving and fiery pits of the crypto underworld, a new menace has sprung. Known as Inferno Drainer, this villainous program allegedly accounts for a theft of nearly $6 million in cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens. This menacing program has cast its net far and wide, leaving thousands of crypto users bereft of their digital assets.
Scam Sniffer’s efforts in unmasking the scammer bring results
Scam Sniffer, a platform that specializes in scam detection, revealed the egregious activities of this elusive operator on a recent Friday. The program in question is believed to be orchestrating an extensive network of scams, being the mastermind behind the theft of several million dollars in cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
In a twist to this shady tale, an individual using the alias “Mr Inferno,” suspected to be an Inferno Drainer member, infiltrated Scam Sniffer’s Telegram group. This unexpected encounter led to the discovery of a peculiar website that advertised the scammer’s services.
How Inferno Drainer operates and reaps its Ill-gotten gains
Inferno Drainer charges a hefty sum between 20% and 30% of the stolen assets for its malicious software. This software assists other fraudsters in creating fraudulent websites. Since March 27, Inferno Drainer has reportedly engineered close to 689 phishing websites.
Among the victims, one wallet stood out, having endured a loss of nearly $400,000 in digital assets.
Scam as a service – A rising threat to the Crypto Community
Scam Sniffer had earlier identified a service akin to Inferno Drainer, named Venom Drainer. This system, quite similar in its operation, succeeded in extracting $27 million from an estimated 15,000 victims. Interestingly, the brunt of this financial blow fell upon a small group of just five victims, who together accounted for a loss of $14 million.
Renowned crypto brands such as Pepe, Collab.Land, zkSync, MetaMask, and Nakamigos, among others, were targeted by the scammers, who used approximately 220 brands to entrap users.
Alarming surge in Crypto scams sets troubling Trend
Despite the current bearish market conditions, crypto scams continue to thrive. According to a recent study by Crystal Blockchain, 2022 was a record-breaking year for crypto fraud. The year saw 120 reported incidents, marking a 28% rise compared to 2021. However, the total value lost in 2022 was less than half that of 2021, which saw a staggering loss of $4.6 billion due to crypto scams. This trend has been attributed to the ongoing bear market.
The rise of ‘Scam as a Service’ providers like Inferno Drainer serves as a sobering reminder of the constant evolution of scam techniques in the crypto world. As digital assets continue to gain traction, users must stay vigilant to protect their valuable investments from these clever swindlers.
