Beware Sorta Finance Scam: $25M Heist And Counting

Key Points:

• Sorta Finance is suspected of being an exit scam by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT.
• The developers behind Sorta Finance have a history of scamming with projects like Magnate, Kokomo, and HashDAO.
• These scammers typically use low-quality audits, fake KYC, and hire influencers to promote their fraudulent projects.

ZachXBT warns that Sorta Finance is possibly running an exit scam. The developers, known for past scams, allegedly trap funds and use Tornado Cash. Sorta Finance scam is highly probable on Arbitrum.

Pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT recently alerted the X community that Sorta Finance is possibly running an exit scam and that using the protocol is not advisable.

Allegations Against Sorta Finance Scam

Developers behind Sorta Finance are known scammers in creating projects like Magnate, Kokomo, Lendora, Solfire, Crolend, and HashDAO, all a combined theft of over 25 million dollars. When the TVL within these protocols reaches a given amount, withdrawal and borrowing are suspended; the funds are trapped.

ZachXBT explicitly named Sorta Finance as a high probability for doing an exit scam on the Arbitrum network. So, the deployer address of Sorta Finance was just funded, and the first address to interact with Sorta contracts got 100 ETH from Tornado Cash. These scammers seem to love to fork Compound V2 on different EVM chains. The previous scams have gotten TVLs in the millions before getting drained.

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Methods Used by the Scammers

According to ZachXBT, scammers typically pay low-quality audit firms and provide fake KYC documentation. The group also hires low-tier influencers who will help promote the projects of these stars. Early-stage Sorta Finance users were funded from Tornado Cash, with one address receiving 100 ETH.

The sleuth previously reported similar scams have been run on Blast, Base, and Arbitrum. That’s usually what happens when funds from previous scams are laundered. For example, an address on Blast was funded with some $1 million from earlier scams and started adding liquidity to attract users.

On April 14, the Scammers launched projects on Base, Solana, Scroll, Optimism, Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Avalanche. Another scam project is Glori Finance on Arbitrum, with a current TVL of $1.4 million.