A crypto user has just lost more than $2.5 million in a simple copy-and-paste mistake. They tried to move 843,166 USDT to a safe wallet. Instead, they sent a chunk of it to the wrong address.
Then they did it again—this time sending $1.7 million to the same scammer. It’s a costly reminder that even small slips can erase fortunes.
Copy-Paste Blunder Leads To Million-Dollar Loss
According to on-chain records, the victim first moved $838,611 in USDT to the right address (0x4668D1Fe87444a4d750…). A moment later, they clicked the wrong entry in their transaction history.
That misstep cost them 843,166 USDT at current prices. They tried once more. And again the funds went to the scammer’s account—and another $1.7 million vanished.
Phishing scams remain a big problem. Image: Perkins School For The Blind
History Poisoning Trick Catches Many Off Guard
Based on reports from Scam Sniffer, scammers are using “transaction history poisoning” to pull off these cons. They send tiny “dust” transfers from look-alike addresses—just enough to clutter a wallet’s history.
🚨 Transaction History Poisoning:
1. Scammer sends fake/dust transfer with similar address2. Their fake address appears in your history3. You copy address from history thinking it’s legitimate4. Funds get sent to scammer insteadhttps://t.co/S2lM8J8XWm
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) May 26, 2025
When users scroll back through past transactions, they can’t tell the real address from the bogus one. Copy. Paste. Gone. In this case, the attack address (0x4668EE748c88DA4FEc…) looked almost identical to the real one. And it showed zero balance, adding to the confusion.
Phishing Scams Remain High
April’s phishing losses hit $5.29 million. That’s down 17% from March. But the number of victims climbed 26%, from 5,992 to 7,565 addresses. A single “whale” lost $1.43 million to a phishing signature. Back in March, the biggest haul was $1.82 million.
🚨 ScamSniffer April 2025 Phishing Report
April losses: $5.29M | 7,565 victimsVS March: -17% in losses | +26% in victims
Key insight: Notable spike in victim count despite lower total losses. Largest attack netted $1.43M via phishing, followed by $700K from address poisoning… pic.twitter.com/mJbGgGyGrN
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) May 3, 2025
Total crypto market cap currently at $3.4 trillion. Chart: TradingView
April’s second-largest attack saw one user lose $700,000 after copying the wrong address. Another person sent $150,000 by mistake. And wallet 0xEFc4f1d5 alone lost over $467,000 in a similar copy-paste trap.
New Threats From EIP-7702 Upgrade
On May 24, the phishing gang Inferno Drainer used Ethereum’s new EIP-7702 rules to steal almost $150,000 in one hit. EIP-7702 lets regular accounts act like smart contracts for a moment.
The scammers guided victims to approve a batch of hidden token transfers through a delegated MetaMask setup. One click opened the door for a silent “execute” command that drained the wallets in seconds.
Greed Breeds Risk
Crypto markets are near $3.5 trillion in total value. Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high of $111,900 on May 22. Traders are chasing big gains. That rush makes urgent moves, and urgent moves invite mistakes.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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