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Several Ethereum blockchain explorer Etherscan advertisements have been identified as part of a major phishing campaign targeting Etherscan users.
On April 8, X community member McBiblets identified some advertisements on Etherscan as wallet drainers, warning users against being redirected to phishing websites when clicking on such advertisements. 
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/737327da-18a2-484e-8e31-07dfa6d00cab.png" alt="" title="">
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 Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/mcbiblets/status/1777090529966076198" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">McBiblets</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Further investigations revealed that the phishing advertisements appearing on Etherscan were also displayed on various known phishing websites. 
Picking up on McBiblets’ lead, Web3 anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer found that the phishing advertisements spread beyond Etherscan and were showing up on popular search engines such as Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, as well as social media platform X.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/15c6de59-436b-4060-a225-38cd62f08105.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/realScamSniffer/status/1777134442383134858" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Scam Sniffer</a>
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Scam Sniffer suspected the lack of oversight from advertisement aggregators as the root cause of the large-scale phishing campaign:
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 “Etherscan aggregates ads from platforms like Coinzilla and Persona, where insufficient filtering could lead to exposure to phishing attempts.”
</blockquote>
The wallet drainer scam involves luring users to fake websites and prompting them to link their crypto wallets. Once linked, the scammer can withdraw funds into their personal wallet addresses without user authentication or permission. 
Blockchain security firm SlowMist’s chief information security officer, 23pds, also <a href="https://twitter.com/im23pds/status/1777122965773250829" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">issued</a> a warning about the phishing advertisements on Etherscan:
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 “Be careful, there are phishing ads on etherscan.”
</blockquote>
The infamous and seasoned <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/angel-drainer-attack-gnosis-safe-vault-contract-etherscan">cyber phishing organization Angel Drainer</a> is suspected of running the phishing attack campaign against Etherscan users. However, no concrete evidence about the scammers’ identity has yet been discovered. 
Read Cointelegraph’s guide to learn more about <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/what-is-a-phishing-attack-in-crypto-and-how-to-prevent-it">phishing attacks and how to prevent them</a>.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-phishing-attacks-alarming-certik">Crypto phishing attacks reached ‘alarming levels’ — CertiK co-founder</a>
In 2023 alone, crypto phishing scams <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-phishing-scams-2023-300-million-dollars-324k-victims-report">stole nearly $300 million from over 324,000 victims</a> through wallet drainers.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/ecdddfa8-5561-46f9-865d-3b67828442b1.jpg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Notable wallet drainers active in 2023. Source: Scam Sniffer
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Scam Sniffer also reported that even when drainers close down, “phishing gangs” just take their business elsewhere, as there seems to be no lack of platforms providing services for scammers. 
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/ai-build-metaverse-alien-worlds-eric-wall-vs-bittensor-ai-eye/">AI didn’t kill the metaverse, it will build it — Alien Worlds, Bittensor vs Eric Wall: AI Eye</a>

Etherscan ads behind massive phishing campaign

Cointelegraph

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