Wallet Drainer On Google Search And X Ads Made $59M By Phishing Attack

Key Points:

• Scam Sniffer reveals Wallet Drainer’s $59 million phishing spree over 9 months, targeting 63,000 victims through Google and X advertising.

• The Wallet Drainer on Google and X ads exploits 60% of tested X ads identified as phishing, using regional targeting and link disguises.

In a concerning revelation, Scam Sniffer monitoring has exposed a nefarious phishing operation known as the Wallet Drainer, which has successfully siphoned off approximately $58 million from more than 63,000 victims over a span of 9 months.

Wallet Drainer Phishing Scam Exposes Massive Financial Losses

The Wallet Drainer on Google first came under the radar of Scam Sniffer in March, and by the end of April, it was detected in association with ad phishing. Disturbingly, a recent examination of X’s advertising platform revealed that 9 out of 10 ads in the feed were linked to phishing activities, with over 60% employing the notorious Wallet Drainer.

Utilizing regional targeting and page-switching tactics to bypass ad audits, the malicious ads presented a significant challenge during the review process. Employing redirect tricks to appear legitimate, the phishing ads disguised links as official domains, leading unsuspecting victims to phishing sites.

Read more: Be Aware Of Opensea Phishing Emails: Users Targeted With Fake NFT Offers

Wallet Drainer on Google and X Ads Exploits $59M

Over the 9-month tracking period, Scam Sniffer identified 10,072 sites linked to Wallet Drainer on Google, with peak activity observed in May, June, and November. Analysis indicates that the Wallet Drainer managed to pilfer nearly $59 million from 63,210 victims through associated addresses.

Notably, the source code and add-ons of this threat are openly traded on a forum, distinguishing it from other services that typically charge a 20% fee. Additional features, such as malicious Blur signatures, come at an extra cost.

This alarming trend underscores the evolving landscape of scams, with advertising platforms like Google and X becoming key tools for scammers to target victims cost-effectively. Despite efforts to combat these threats, the persistence of tactics such as domain spoofing and ad review evasion remains a pressing concern.